San Francisco 49ers: Big names to avoid during 2019 NFL free agency

Earl Thomas, FS, Seattle Seahawks

The idea of signing Earl Thomas is going to be very tempting for San Francisco. They have needs at safety, Thomas is a five-time All-Pro and they’ve already got his former Legion of Boom brother Richard Sherman on the roster. It just makes sense, right?

Well, not so fast. As it turns out, signing Thomas may not be all its cracked up to be.

First and foremost, Thomas is coming off a season-ending broken leg. That’s no easy injury to overcome, especially when you’re on the wrong side of 30 with an extended history of health concerns. He’ll probably be ready to go by September, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be the same player he was even last season.

Furthermore, Thomas has proven to be a bit of headache. Between hold outs and an open eagerness to play elsewhere, he didn’t do a good job of keeping things civil with the Seattle Seahawks. Does San Francisco really need that type of instability spoiling their young, impressionable core?

It’s certainly an exciting option the 49ers will want to consider. When final decisions must be made, though, we should all be hoping that Lynch and Shanahan decide to let Thomas be someone else’s problem next season. Say the Dallas Cowboys?