Per common sense, Seahawks activate Earl Thomas to play in opener--but lose another cornerback

To the surprise of no one—now that he had returned, that is—the Seahawks have added Earl Thomas to the active roster to play in their opener.

The team announced Saturday before the 1:25 p.m. NFL deadline to do so it activated the All-Pro safety from the exempt list. Thomas had been on that since Wednesday, when he ended his six-week holdout and rejoined the Seahawks. He practiced fully Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and the six-time All-Pro free safety will start on Sunday at the Denver Broncos.

So ends Tedric Thompson place-holding the position.

Thomas will be only the third returning starter on defense in Denver, with All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner and defensive tackle Jarran Reed. The other eight starters did not start Seattle’s 2017 opener 12 months ago.

Thomas hasn’t spoken publicly since returning to the team this week. A Seahawks spokesman said following Friday’s practice at team headquarters in Renton Thomas told him he had nothing to say beyond his Instragram message Wednesday in which he announced his return from his fruitless holdout—and said he would not forget getting disrespected.

To make the roster room for their returning star, the Seahawks waived cornerback Simeon Thomas. Seattle had claimed him last weekend off league waivers from Cleveland. If the undrafted rookie clears waivers this weekend again, look for him to sign with the Seahawks’ practice squad, because they like his length and long arms they covet for cornerbacks.

The Seahawks lost Dontae Johnson to injured reserve on Saturday. The starter last season for San Francisco was going to start Sunday at Denver at right cornerback, until he sustained a groin injury this week. He missed practices Thursday and Friday.

Rookie Tre Flowers is in line to be the second member of the Seahawks’ remade defense starting Sunday in his first NFL game. The other is Shaquem Griffin at weakside linebacker, while Pro Bowl veteran K.J. Wright recovers from arthroscopic knee surgery two weeks ago.

Flowers started the first preseason game last month in his conversion from college safety at Oklahoma State. He had a pass-interference penalty going through the back of Indianapolis star receiver T.Y. Hilton on third down early in that game. Then he did well to stay over the top of a deep pass into the end zone, which coach Pete Carroll demands in his first rule of playing cornerback.

But then the Seahawks liked what they saw from Johnson upon his return in mid-August from a broken bone in his foot. After veteran Byron Maxwell went on injured reserve last week Johnson became the starter. For three days, until he got hurt again, too.

So in that sense, Flowers is Plan C already at cornerback opposite entrenched Shaquill Griffin. The Seahawks have been viewing Flowers as their cornerback of the future. Suddenly, the future for him is now, for week one.

Maxwell reached an injury settlement with the Seahawks on Friday, along with quarterback Austin Davis and linebacker Erik Walden. Those three come off injured reserve and become free agents, though they must wait a minimum of six weeks before there would be any chance of the Seahawks bringing any one of them back.

The Seahawks signed cornerback Akeem King off their practice squad onto the active roster to take Johnson’s place on the 53-man roster.

Seattle also has veteran Neiko Thorpe, a special-teams captain, as an option at cornerback. But he didn’t practice most of training camp and the preseason because he was hurt, too, with a wrist injury.

This story was originally published September 8, 2018 at 4:05 PM.