POLL: Pay up, just play, or part ways with Seahawks’ Thomas?

Earl Thomas had himself quite the week.

The Seattle Seahawks’ disgruntled Al-Pro free safety hit all kinds of different points on the spectrum over the past several days. First, he missed two practices during the week for mysterious non-injury related reasons. Then he played a stormer Sunday against Dallas, intercepting two passes in Seattle’s 24-13 victory over the Dallas Cowboys. Finally, he made clear after the game that he remains at odds with the team.

Thomas used his postgame media scrum to essentially put more pressure on the Seahawks to trade him. Thomas is in the final year of his contract and wants either an extension or a trade. The Seahawks seem disinclined to accommodate Thomas. Therefore, Thomas revealed that he didn’t practice last week mainly because of his dissatisfaction with his situation, implied that he will continue to skip practices, and seemed to court the trade speculation currently surrounding him.

All of which means the rift between Thomas and the Seahawks will continue to be front-page news.

This is a sticky situation. On one hand, the Seahawks need Thomas. The evidence over the past two years is that Seattle is a far better defense with Thomas on the field than it is without him, and Sunday’s game showed that even a disgruntled Thomas is a game changer. But the longer this goes on, the bigger distraction it becomes. Not only will the situation continue to be in the headlines, if Thomas continues to sit out practices it could potentially create discord within the team. The Seahawks just spent the offseason parting ways with players like Richard Sherman and Michael Bennett who were perceived to be distractions, so the last thing one would think they want is another one.

For his part, Thomas is is a tricky spot, too. He doesn’t want to be in Seattle anymore, and his only leverage is acting in a manner that compels the Seahawks to trade him. But he can’t let his play slip because no other team is going to give him a lucrative contract extension unless he shows he’ll continue to be an elite player well into his 30s.

So it all ends up where it is now.

What’s the best way forward for the Seahawks? Should they trade Thomas and rid themselves of a distraction, but deprive themselves an All-Pro free safety? Should they keep Thomas and hope the distraction has minimal effect on the team? Should they take some sort of action against Thomas, like benching or suspending him, to show his actions won’t be tolerated? Or should they even bite the bullet and give him the contract extension he wants?

What do you think?