Earl Thomas officially absent as Seahawks mini-camp begins

Houston Texans v Seattle Seahawks

RENTON -- Free safety Earl Thomas followed through on his plan to skip mandatory mini-camp with the Seahawks as he was not present for the beginning of the three-day camp on Tuesday.

Thomas announced his intentions to skip the camp in a Twitter posting on Sunday. He vowed to skip the mini-camp and all team related activities until his contract situation is addressed.

"Kind of had heard that he was making that choice," head coach Pete Carroll said of Thomas' absence on Tuesday. "I wish he was here. That would be nice. But we're focusing on the guys that are here and we'll see how that goes."

Thomas can be fined up to $84,435 from the team for the missing all three days of the camp. Players can be fined up to $14,070 for missing the first day, $28,150 for the second day and $42,215 for the third day. Fines are ultimately the team's discretion and it would be up to the Seahawks whether to ultimately demand the funds.

Thomas is entering the final year of a four-year extension signed prior to the 2014 season. He is scheduled to make $8.5 million in base salary in 2018.

"I want to remain a Seahawk for the rest of my career but I also believe that based on my production over the last 8 years that I've earned the right to have this taken care of as soon as possible," Thomas wrote on Sunday. "I want to have certainty in regards to the upcoming years of my career."

A full rundown of the ramifications of Thomas' hold out can be found in our posting from Sunday, including the full amount of fines he would be subject to should his hold out continue into training camp.

Defensive end Chris Clemons was the last Seahawks player to skip the mandatory mini-camp in 2012, but he signed a new contract prior to training camp and reported on time.

"It's an individual case with whoever the guy it, whatever his story is," Carroll said. "I don't see putting them in a basket. I think you look at each guy and whatever is going on, the history and all that and you deal with it accordingly."

Frank Clark and Byron Maxwell did show up for mini-camp:

Defensive end Frank Clark and cornerback Byron Maxwell had remained away from the voluntary OTAs held over the last few weeks. However, both Clark and Maxwell were on hand for the start of mini-camp on Tuesday.

Maxwell was a full participant while Clark was limited some due to a sore hamstring.

"He’s got a little hamstring that’s been bothering him throughout the offseason," Carroll said of Clark. "He hasn’t quite got it right so we’re holding him out. He got a little bit of work today.”

Clark is getting set to enter the final year of his rookie contract with the team. While Clark hasn't spoken about his contract situation, he's suddenly the top returning pass rusher on the roster following the departures of Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett.

Dontae Johnson recovering from foot surgery:

Cornerback Dontae Johnson recently had surgery to address a broken bone in his foot.

Carroll said Johnson sustained the injury about 10 days ago and had surgery to address the issue.

"Hhe's in a boot and recovering. Had a little surgery to get that fixed up," Carroll said.

Johnson signed with the Seahawks this offseason after spending his first four years with the San Francisco 49ers.


Photo Credit: SEATTLE, WA - OCTOBER 29: Quarterback Deshaun Watson #4 of the Houston Texans tries to tackle free safety Earl Thomas #29 of the Seattle Seahawks as Thomas returns an interception for a touchdown during the first quarter of the game at CenturyLink Field on October 29, 2017 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)


Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content