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NFL

John Schneider: Seahawks aren't trying to trade Earl Thomas
11:19 PM ET

  • Brady HendersonESPN

SEATTLE — The chances of the Seattle Seahawks trading Earl Thomas diminished considerably over the weekend when he remained with the team through the second day of the NFL draft.

Another indication a trade isn’t likely came Thursday, when general manager John Schneider said in an interview with Seattle’s Sports Radio 950 KRJ that the team isn’t trying to move its All-Pro free safety. Specifically, he was asked if the Seahawks are still “actively” looking for a trade partner.

“Nope, not actively looking for that,” Schneider responded. “Nope.”

Earl Thomas, a six-time Pro Bowl selection and arguably the NFL’s best safety, isn’t likely to be traded. Jeff Halstead/Zuma Press/Icon Sportswire

Asked if the Seahawks had looked to trade Thomas, Schneider said it’s his job to consider everything.

“The way to answer that is that we’re not doing our job if we don’t listen to everybody,” he said. “If you guys could sit next to me throughout the draft, you’d be blown away with what you hear. You have to be ready to make decisions all the way through whether it’s the first round, third round or fifth round with players that are on their restricted tenders that want to be moved, so there’s names being thrown around all the time.”

That’s been a common response from Schneider to questions about a possible Thomas trade, which has been one of the more pressing topics of Seattle’s offseason. It has persisted for several reasons.

Thomas is entering the final year of his contract and at one point mentioned the possibility of holding out if he didn’t get a new deal, though his stance on that may have changed. This comes at a time when the Seahawks are reshaping their roster at the expense of some of their star players such as Richard Sherman (released), Michael Bennett (traded) and Jimmy Graham (left in free agency), to name a few. The Dallas Cowboys also have known interest in Thomas. ESPN’s Todd Archer reported that the Cowboys may continue to pursue Thomas before the 2018 season.

However, the best chance of a trade almost certainly came and went along with the second day of the draft. That’s because a trade now would have to include 2019 draft picks, which wouldn’t be nearly as valuable to the Seahawks since they can no longer draft an immediate replacement.

But it’s worth noting that at no point have the Seahawks slammed the door on a possible trade.

The next question: Will the Seahawks extend Thomas before the season? Schneider was noncommittal when asked Thursday if he foresees any talks with Thomas’ representatives about a new deal in the near future.

“That’s hard to tell. I mean, he’s under contract for next year,” Schneider said. “From a timing standpoint, that’s not something I’m going to get into. But obviously, everybody loves Earl. We all know he’s a Hall of Fame-caliber player. Like I said, he’s the second player we ever picked here. He’s just been a huge inspiration all the way through. The guys a tempo-setter at practice and overcame his injury, and he’s been doing great ever since.”

Thomas was the NFL’s highest-paid safety in terms of annual average when he signed a four-year, $40 million extension in 2014, but he’s since fallen to sixth, with teammate Kam Chancellor ($12 million) among those who have surpassed him. He first raised the possibility of holding out in an interview with ESPN from the Pro Bowl in January, but Schneider said last month that he’s been told by Thomas’ representatives that he won’t hold out.

Is there any concern on Schneider’s part that Thomas’ attitude may change if he doesn’t get a new deal before the season?

“I don’t think so,” Schneider said. “He plays the game 100 miles an hour. He only knows how to do this in one manner, and that’s just all out. So no, I wouldn’t think that would be a factor for him.”

Schneider also said in the KJR interview that the team “would love” to extend left tackle Duane Brown before the season. Brown has one year left on the contract the Seahawks inherited when they acquired him in a trade with the Houston Texans in October. The Seahawks gave up their third-round pick in that deal, which is why Schneider said he considered Brown to be, in a sense, a part of Seattle’s recent draft class.

“We had to keep looking over at that card too — right? — in the third round, like, ‘OK, he’s part of this too,'” Schneider said. “When we made that move, we were hoping to lock him up, have him finish his career here.”

NFL

Report: Redskins cheer squad had to go topless

Washington Redskins cheerleaders were required to pose topless for a photo shoot in 2013, while spectators invited by the team looked on, the New York Times reported Wednesday.

Some of the cheerleaders were then required to attend a nightclub event as escorts for some of the team’s male sponsors, according to the Times.

The cheerleaders said there was no sex involved, but they felt the team was “pimping us out.” The incidents occurred on a weeklong trip to Costa Rica, for which the cheerleaders were not paid.

“It’s just not right to send cheerleaders out with strange men when some of the girls clearly don’t want to go,” one of the women told the paper. “But unfortunately, I feel like it won’t change until something terrible happens, like a girl is assaulted in some way, or raped. I think teams will start paying attention to this only when it’s too late.”

The Times also described an annual, mandatory boat outing with sponsors. Some of the women characterized the 2012 trip as “a wild gathering, where men shot liquor into the cheerleaders’ mouths with turkey basters. Below the deck, men handed out cash prizes in twerking contests.”

The Redskins responded to the accounts in a statement to the Times.

“The Redskins’ cheerleader program is one of the NFL’s premier teams in participation, professionalism and community service,” the team said. “Each Redskin cheerleader is contractually protected to ensure a safe and constructive environment. The work our cheerleaders do in our community, visiting our troops abroad and supporting our team on the field is something the Redskins organization and our fans take great pride in.”

The NFL has come under increased scrutiny for how it treats cheerleaders. Two women, former New Orleans Saints cheerleader Bailey Davis and former Miami Dolphins cheerleader Kristan Ware, filed discrimination complaints against the league last month.

Among the issues they cited were gender discrimination, sexual harassment, low pay, long and unpaid hours, and discriminatory social media oversight.

The NFL responded to the lawsuits with a statement saying: “Everyone who works in the NFL, including cheerleaders, has the right to work in a positive and respectful environment that is free from any and all forms of harassment and discrimination and fully complies with state and federal laws.”

The league said it would work with teams “in sharing best practices” to support cheerleading squads.

Sara Blackwell, the lawyer representing the former cheerleaders filing suit, said last week that the women would settle all claims for $1 in exchange for a four-hour, good-faith meeting with commissioner Roger Goodell and lawyers for the league. In a letter to an attorney for the NFL, they asked for a response from the league by Friday.

“We want change,” Blackwell said. “We want the opportunity for change.”

NFL

Big Ben: I plan on playing 3 to 5 more years

PITTSBURGH — Ben Roethlisberger might be quarterbacking the Steelers at age 40.

Roethlisberger told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he plans to play three to five more years if he stays healthy and his offensive line is intact.

The Steelers selected Oklahoma State quarterback Mason Rudolph with the 76th overall pick in last week’s NFL draft, raising questions about whether the franchise had found an heir apparent to Big Ben.

“If he’s going to be their guy, that’s great; but in my perfect world, it’s not going to be for a while,” Roethlisberger told the newspaper.

“I’ll still take it one year at a time and give it everything I have that one year,” Ben Roethlisberger told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Charles LeClaire/USA TODAY Sports

Roethlisberger, who turned 36 in March, flirted with retirement after the 2016 season but started to entertain the prospect of future years last season. He publicly committed to 2018 minutes after a playoff loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Center Maurkice Pouncey, his best friend on the team, told ESPN that Roethlisberger had informed him that he wanted to play three more seasons.

Roethlisberger has two years left on his contract, and team president Art Rooney II said this offseason that the team is prepared to discuss a contract extension with the quarterback.

“I went and talked to Art and Coach [Mike Tomlin] and coach Randy [Fichtner] and basically said, listen, I can’t control — barring major injuries, barring things at home, and things out of your control — the way my body feels,” Roethlisberger told the Post-Gazette. “The way our O-line is put together, as good as they are, they kept me healthy as can be the last couple of years. I really feel I can play this game another three to five years.”

Roethlisberger validated that notion with his play late last season. After a slow start to the season’s first half, Roethlisberger averaged nearly 350 passing yards and three touchdowns per game over the final seven outings. His entire starting offensive line is under contract, as are weapons Antonio Brown, Le’Veon Bell and JuJu Smith-Schuster.

“I’ll still take it one year at a time and give it everything I have that one year, but that’s what I feel comfortable telling [the Steelers],” Roethlisberger said about his time frame.

NFL

Pats' Brady confirms he plans to play in 2018

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady confirmed his plans to play in 2018 and repeated his goal to extend his career into his mid-40s during an appearance Monday at the Milken Institute Global Conference in California, while detailing why he’s taking a different approach this offseason, staying away from the team’s voluntary offseason program.

“Part of this offseason for me is certainly about still preparing for what’s ahead in my next journey, my next mountain to climb with this group of teammates, but it’s also [acknowledging] that a lot of people are getting the short end of the stick in my life — certainly my wife and my kids,” Brady said in an hourlong conversation with moderator Jim Gray.

“Football is year-round for me. It’s a lot of thought, a lot of energy and emotion put into it, but I need to invest in them, too. My kids are 10, 8 and 5. They’re not getting younger, so I need to take time so I can be available to them, too. … I’ve really spent the last two or three months doing those things, and I think I’m really trying to fill my tank up so that when I do go back, I can go back and I think I’ll actually be, in my mind, a better player, a better teammate, because I’ll be really rejuvenated.”

As for why he plans to keep playing, Brady said, “I have personal goals. I want to keep playing. I’ve said for a long time I want to play to my mid-40s. I was told three years, when I was 36-37, ‘You can’t keep playing; no one wins Super Bowls [at that age].’ It’s a great challenge for me. I think I’ve been challenged my whole life. I feel like I can do it.”

In talking about extending his career, the 40-year-old Brady noted how his routine has evolved over time, and that he feels he can keep playing because he loves the game, is willing to make the commitment, and believes in his plan.

“I have a great system in place that works well for me in order to keep me performing at my highest level,” he said, referring to the TB12 Training Method which he called “part of the second career of my life.”

“What I want to do in the meantime is I want to inspire people through my action. Not tell them what to do, but just show it,” he said.

In the final episode of Brady’s docuseries “Tom vs. Time”, Brady’s wife, Gisele Bundchen, said she wanted Brady to feel happy and appreciated, a topic that came up during Brady’s conversation at the Milken Institute Global Conference.

Asked if he was happy, Brady said, “I have my moments.”

Asked if he is happy with the people he works with and for, Brady said, “Yeah. I would say absolutely. And in general, I’m a very happy person. I’m a very positive person. It’s just my personality, I always look at things as the glass is half full. I think there are different times; when you’ve been on the same team for a long time, you have relationships for a long time, they ebb and flow like every relationship. But there are no people I’d rather play for or be committed to than the team I’ve been with for a long time, and really the fans and the community.”

Asked if he feels appreciated by coach Bill Belichick and owner Robert Kraft, and if they have the appropriate gratitude for what he has achieved, Brady said, “I plead the fifth!”

That sparked laughter from the crowd.

“Man, that is a tough question,” Brady continued. “I think everybody in general wants to be appreciated more in their professional life, but there’s a lot of people that appreciate me way more than I ever thought was possible as part of my life. You have different influences in your life and the people I work with, they’re trying to get the best out of me. So they’re trying to treat me in the way they feel is going to get the best out of me, and I’ve got to get the best out of myself.

“I think what I’m learning, as you get older, it comes from within — the joy, the happiness, those things come from inside. To seek that from others, to seek that from outside influences, people you work with, people that cheer against you or cheer with you, I feel like it comes from within for me. So I’m trying to build up what’s within me, so that I can be the best for me, so that I can be the best for other people. That’s part of growing. I’m learning these things, too.”

Of his connection with Belichick, he said, “We’ve had a great relationship, a very respectful relationship for a long time. I feel like he’s the best coach in the history of the NFL. He has a management style [with] players, and he would say, ‘Look, I’m not the easiest coach to play for.’ I agree. He’s not the easiest coach to play for.

“But he’s the best for me. I think what he’s proven is that whatever talent he has, he maximizes his talent. What more could you ask of a coach than that? That’s what I want as a player. … He’s been an incredible coach, he’s been an incredible mentor to me. He’s taught me so much football. To be a 22-year-old kid and come and learn from him, I wouldn’t be sitting here without his coaching. I wouldn’t have the success without how incredibly talented he was, along with a lot of the other coaches, a lot of the other players, a lot of the other people in the organization. Because it takes everybody to do it.”

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