Is Earl Thomas the Dallas Cowboys top free agent target?

After tons of speculation about a potential move last offseason, will the Dallas Cowboys pull the trigger on safety Earl Thomas this spring?

Over the course of the past few offseasons, the Dallas Cowboys have not been big players in free agency. Dallas has stuck by their mantra the past few years of re-signing their own players, rather than paying money to big-time free agents.

Since the Brandon Carr signing in 2012, the Cowboys have not made any big-time acquisitions in the free agent market, but that could change this year.

Cowboys’ owner and general manager Jerry Jones was asked on Monday if Dallas will have discussions about the safety position during free agency. Here’s what Jones told Jon Machota of Dallas Morning News …

"“Yes, but that’s about all I’ll say.”"

Now, obviously, Jones saying this is expected, every team looks to upgrade and discuss going about improving their team during free agency, but the 800-pound elephant in the room is set-to-be free agent safety, Earl Thomas.

Back in 2017 after his former team, the Seattle Seahawks knocked Dallas out of playoff contention, Thomas ran down the Cowboys tunnel and told head coach Jason Garrett to come get him.

Now after this comment there was tons of speculation last offseason about if Dallas would make a deal to acquire Thomas. It is believed they could have made a deal with Seattle for their second-round pick to acquire him, but Dallas decided to keep the pick and take guard Connor Williams.

Once again already this offseason the rumors are swirling about Thomas possibly being a target for the Cowboys, and Earl himself has even come out on social media and affirmed Dallas is a place he would like to be. Combine this with Jerry’s comments and the lack of production from the safety position last season, it seems Thomas and the Cowboys have a real chance of becoming a match in the coming months.

The biggest question as it always is will be the money. Thomas will turn 30 this May and is coming off a devastating leg injury that ended his 2018 season. All indications are that his rehab is coming along well and he will be fully ready to go in 2019, but it raises the question will this injury affect his performance moving forward.

When at his best, Thomas is one of if not the best safeties in the league and the Cowboys saw this first hand when they played Seattle in September of 2018. Thomas had two interceptions in that game, one in the fourth quarter that sealed the win for Seattle. The thing that the former All-Pro safety does the best is what the Cowboys defense struggles the most at, taking the football away.

In his nine-year NFL career, Thomas has not had one season where he did not force at least two turnovers, and five times he has recorded three or more interceptions in a season. Thomas would be a game changer for the Dallas defense and help them ascend from very good to possibly great.

It seems pretty clear Thomas will be one of if not the biggest Cowboys’ free agent target this offseason. But a deal getting done will come down to what his evaluation of himself is. If Thomas realizes that he is a 30-year-old safety coming off a season-ending injury and takes a little less money than he maybe thinks he’s worth, there is a good chance he could be playing safety in Dallas next season.

At the end of the day, this is just the start of many Earl Thomas to the Dallas Cowboys rumors you will hear in the upcoming months. Will they actually transform into anything real this offseason? Only time will tell.