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Former All-Pro safety Earl Thomas had a remarkable 10-year run in the NFL with Seattle Seahawks and Baltimore Ravens. Thomas, a first-round pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, made seven Pro Bowls, five All-Pro teams, and won a Super Bowl in Seattle.
But a recent conversation with NFL insider Josina Anderson led to a bold claim that has football fans everywhere clowning on Thomas.
Thomas was one of two guests on the debut episode of Anderson’s podcast, The Exhibit. As part of the discussion Anderson asked Thomas was his reaction would be if he wound up not making the Pro Football Hall of Fame on the first ballot. His answer left NFL fans stunned.
“What would happen? I would just know that I’m better than Ed Reed. I’m better than Troy Polamalu. Yeah, that would just be that,” Thomas said as a stunned Anderson turned to the camera in astonishment.
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Now, Thomas did have a remarkable career and has a legitimate claim to a spot in the Hall of Fame. But hooooolldd your horses there, buddy.
Reed and Polamalu were both generational talents. Reed made two more Pro Bowls than Thomas, three more All-Pro teams, led the league in interceptions three times and won the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2004. Polamalu, meanwhile, also made more Pro Bowls, more All-Pro teams and was named the league Defensive Player of the Year in 2010.
Thomas was a great player. Reed and Polamalu were generation-defining players. It’s really not even much of an argument, and fans seem to agree.
“Earl…Earl…EARL…he knows what he did there…no way he has a honest moment with himself and says something like that lol Derrick Henry changed your position from safety to fullback lol chill,” one fan wrote.
“Earl is a HOF player but he’s not sitting at the table with Troy and Ed,” said another.
Thomas’s NFL career came to an abrupt end after a bizarre incident involving his wife and brother. But even then, he had shown signs of decline. We appreciate the confidence, but let’s be real for a second. There are levels to the game, and you are not on that level.