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The Seahawks went to the training ground on Wednesday to prepare their first game of the season in Denver, and for the first time since the end of the 2017 season, Earl Thomas was on the field with his teammates.
Thomas, who had not previously reported to the team as he sought a new contract, joined the team on Wednesday, giving the Seattle defense an immediate boost just before the start of the season.
"It's really good to find him," said Seahawks coach Pete Carroll. "He has been with us for so long, he's just been part of the structure of our subject.
Thomas missing all camp and preseason, Carroll admits that there will be "a period of adjustment while he joins us", and Carroll said he did not know if Thomas would be willing to play Sunday. But from a general point of view, Thomas's return is a clear advantage for a defense he has helped anchor since arriving in Seattle in 2010.
"At the moment, because we just have to see how he's doing and how he feels and all that stuff, but it's great to find him," Carroll said. "Our guys are going to welcome him. They are happy to see it and we will go ahead with that.
Carroll said he was not expecting off-road problems with Thomas despite the delay, and said Thomas's return had everything to do with his passion for the game.
"He's a guy as dedicated to this game as anyone we've seen," Carroll said. "He wants to play football. We had to deal with business problems, and that's what he was doing, and it was thanks to the love of the game. His love of the game is immutable. We come back to it.
Whether Thomas is back on the field this weekend or a little later, the Seahawks will pick up a Pro-Bowler six times and five-time All-Pro, a player who played a key role in a historic race that saw the Seahawks lead the NFL by scoring a defense for four consecutive seasons from 2013 to 2016.
"He is one of the best players to play," Carroll said. "It's been a part of our program for a long time. That's why we never hesitated to think he was not going to be with us. It was just a matter of time to try to make sense or do what we could do, and thankfully, we are coming back. We would like him to be a Seahawk for the rest of his career. That's what we always thought. The rest, we will take care of it when the time comes. "
Perhaps no one is more excited to add an All-Pro defender than the head of this unit, defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr.
"Oh my God, really good to see Earl again," said Norton before joking, "I became a better trainer today, really glad to see him, you know how involved he was with this program and how awesome he's been since he came in. He's part of that family, like having a family member who was not there, so everyone was really happy to see him.
Norton echoed Carroll's comments that the Seahawks did not have to call Thomas until the end of the week – they have a two-week list exemption that allows him to train without taking a seat On the men's 53rd list, but he'll have to make a move on Saturday so that he can play Denver – but Norton also expects Thomas to soon catch up.
"If you know Earl, he's ready," said Norton. "He is never ready. We understand what his work ethic has been since he was here, the things that made him one of the best players in the league. So I think if you know something about Earl, you know that he is ready.
"Earl is special. He plays games that no one can do. He has a great instinct about it, his engine is really solid, he attacks people everywhere, and he raises everyone's level around him. He is very focused and to be part of his team, you have to be very focused to play at his level, so he raises the expectations of this group.
As suggested by Carroll, Seahawks players welcome Thomas with open arms.
"Ecstatic," said receiver Doug Baldwin about Thomas's return. "When I saw him sitting in the meeting room, I could not help but give him a big hug. That's my boy, love him to death. You grow up with someone, you see that someone has been working for so long, how it works, the type of person it is, and it's really hard to come up with people who are thinking about it. outside this stratosphere. to recover it. I am looking forward to spending more time with him.
Linebacker Bobby Wagner, who was elected defense captain of Seattle earlier this week, said, "He feels good. It was pretty cool to see him enter the meeting room. To find a guy like that, I know that he probably went through a lot of things, so I just felt that it was important that we kiss him and that we told him that He was in our hearts when he was not there and I welcome you.
Asked about the difficulty of reinstating Thomas just before the start of the season, Wagner said, "No, he is Earl. He has been in the program for quite some time, we have been playing together for quite some time. It's a bit like a guy was hurt and missed a few weeks and came back – we kiss him and he goes home. He is a unique player. "
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