Ravens Sign Earl Thomas

The Baltimore Ravens have been gutted this offseason. After putting together the number one defense in football in 2018, the Ravens lost CJ Mosley, Za’Darius Smith, Terrell Suggs, and Eric Weddle. The Ravens just made a move to make up for those losses. Earl Thomas is coming to Baltimore. Thomas has signed a 4-year deal worth $55 million.

Adam Schefter of ESPN was the first to report the news:

Former Seahawks’ S Earl Thomas intends to sign a four-year, $55 million deal that includes $32 million fully guaranteed at signing with the Baltimore Ravens, league source tells ESPN. Deal includes $22 million in first nine months.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 13, 2019

Thomas, 29, is arguably the best safety in the sport. No doubt about it. Thomas is a clear upgrade over Eric Weddle who the Ravens released this offseason. He’s the closest thing the Ravens have had to an elite safety since Ed Reed. Thomas is a fantastic player and is just one of those guys that makes up for mistakes in the back end. Fantastic signing.

The only issue is the Ravens still have multiple holes to fill. They have zero pass rush and no linebackers who can play. If that doesn’t get addressed, this defense will take a huge step in the wrong direction even with the addition of Thomas.

Thomas is coming off a season that landed him on injured reserve. This contract will make Thomas the third highest paid safety in the league behind Landon Collins and Tyrann Mathieu. In 9 NFL seasons, Thomas has 28 career interceptions and is one of the rare ball-hawking safeties int he NFL.

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Minutes after making this announcement, the Ravens also signed Mark Ingram. I would assume he will be the starting running back but Gus Edwards may have something to say about that. The bad news is the Ravens are giving away all those potential comp picks they were collecting. Even when you think the Ravens are doing well, they really aren’t.