Earl Thomas and the Seattle Seahawks haven't been on the best of terms lately. And that bad blood boiled over Sunday, when the injured defensive back offered an obscene gesture toward his own sideline while being carted off. No traditional thumbs up from Thomas, telling teammates he'll be OK after fracturing his leg. Nah, he just flipped the bird, a more fitting goodbye for the player who held out all of training camp. Le'Veon Bell chimes in on Earl Thomas' injury. pic.twitter.com/cmMbaezpRA — Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 1, 2018 Thomas is in the final year of a deal paying him $8.5 million this season. He wanted a new contract, or to be traded. Thomas got neither, so he skipped all of training camp. Once he reported, the disgruntled Thomas reportedly refused to practice. Now he's headed to injured reserve, which is what the aging veteran feared.<doc-sep>When players are carted off the pitch with an injury, they normally tend to react by sharing a word with the team doctor or lamenting their bad luck Seattle Seahawks safety Earl Thomas, however, opted for something radically different. Thomas was being carted off the field during the Seahawks game against the Cardinals in Glendale when he appeared to flip the bird toward Seattle's bench. Whether the gesture was aimed at someone in particular or just in the general direction of the Seahawks bench is up for debate, but footage leaves little room for interpretation over Thomas's intentions. Earl Thomas’ reaction after being carted off the field. pic.twitter.com/Lpqgu7rJJ9 — Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 30, 2018 The 29-year-old had gone down while trying to make a play in the end zone and was attended to by doctors on the field, before having an air cast applied to his leg and being carted off the field. It was later revealed that Thomas suffered a lower leg fracture his left leg, which he had broken in a season-ending injury in December 2016. Back then, the Texas native had tweeted about retirement, while on Sunday he opted to make his feelings known in an altogether different way. Speaking to reporters after the game, Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner sympathized with his teammate. "I think we play a very, very emotional game, and I think sometimes you've got to allow people to have their emotions, have their feelings," he was quoted as saying by NBC. "So you've got to let guys have their emotions. I don't think nothing of [Thomas's raised middle finger Sunday]. I think he has a long road ahead of him if it's the injury that he suspects. We're going to have his back and we're going to support him and we're going to be here for him." Seahawks coach Pete Carrol also chose not to condemn Thomas's gesture, going as far as suggesting he hadn't even seen it. "I don't know anything about that," he said, as reported by Brady Henderson of ESPN. "It's a big stadium. I don't know where it was aimed at. Earl was extraordinarily poised on the field. For what just occurred to be so clear and so resolved to—he knew what happened. But he was so poised and giving back to the players and all of us. So I don't know what happened after that." However, NFL reporter Albert Breer suggested Thomas would live to regret his decision. Earl Thomas is gonna regret doing that. I have some experience with this kind of thing. What seems right in the moment, sometimes isn't in long run. — Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) September 30, 2018 Thomas is not the first player to suffer a serious injury in Glendale and San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman, who ruptured his Achilles while playing for the Seahawks in Arizona in October last year, was quick to offer some words of support to his former teammate. Glendale, man: The stadium where Seattle’s dynasty went down in 2015, where Richard Sherman went down in 2017, where Earl Thomas went down today. — Seth Wickersham (@SethWickersham) October 1, 2018 Praying for my brother @Earl_Thomas. Most will never know the hard work and sacrifice daily that goes into playing this game. He will bounce back better than ever that’s who he i. — Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) October 1, 2018 The injury is a particularly tough blow for Thomas, who held out for an improved contract throughout the offseason and only returned to the fold after preseason. The safety asked the Seahawks to give him an extension or to trade him and sat out two practice sessions before last weekend's game against the Cowboys in a bid to preserve himself as he seeks a new deal. Earl Thomas’ contract expires after this season. So today possibly was the last game he played with the Seahawks. Thomas will be free to go where he wants this winter when he becomes a free agent. https://t.co/JJzjgn40Lk — Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 30, 2018 Despite Thomas's unfortunate incident, the Seahawks won 20-17 in Arizona, moving to 2-2 for the season.<doc-sep>Last week, Seattle’s Earl Thomas bowed toward the Dallas sideline after making an interception, taunting the Cowboys for having failed to trade for him. On Sunday, Thomas made an even more pointed gesture toward his own sideline while getting carted off the field with a leg injury that almost certainly means he won’t be traded to anybody, anytime soon.<doc-sep>
The relationship between Earl Thomas and the Seattle Seahawks appears to have gone from bad to worse. During the fourth quarter of Seattle's 20-17 win over Arizona, Thomas had to be carted off the field after suffering a left leg injury following a Cardinals touchdown. After the game, Pete Carroll announced that Thomas would be placed on injured reserve with a fractured left leg. The injury came with some drama for the Seahawks. As Thomas was being carted off, he turned toward the team's bench area and decided to flip the bird at someone. Earl Thomas appeared to flip the bird at his own bench. Fox/NFL It's not clear who specifically the middle finger was intended for, but Thomas was definitely staring down the Seahawks' sideline when he flashed his middle finger. We can't show you the picture, but if you click here, you can see video of the incident. If the middle finger was intended for someone on the Seahawks' sideline, it wouldn't be a huge surprise. There's been some bad blood between the two sides over the past few months. Thomas held out for all of training camp hoping for a new contract, but the Seahawks never even made him an offer. With no new deal, Thomas finally reported just before the start of the regular season so that he wouldn't miss any paychecks. The safety is currently in the final year of a deal that is paying him $8.5 million in base salary this season. Although Thomas reported to the team, that didn't really fix anything. Instead of holding out, he started "holding in," which basically means that he refused to practice. After Thomas missed multiple practices, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll promised that there would be "consequences." With Thomas now headed to IR, it could mean that he's now played his last down with Seattle.