© Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
SANTA CLARA — One of the biggest question marks entering the 2019 season is which 49ers players will man the two starting safety spots. The team has exhausted nine different combinations at the safety positions this year.
Recent past has shown the importance of elite safety play in the 49ers’ Cover-3 scheme, which mimics the Seattle defense that dominated the NFL earlier this decade. And the 49ers may have the chance to sign the player who anchored those Seattle defenses and revolutionized free safety play across the league: Earl Thomas.
Thomas, a three-time first-team All-Pro, will become a free agent after the current season. His tenure with the Seahawks is likely over, considering the final image of his 2018 season: flipping off the Seahawks sideline as he was carted off the field after fracturing his leg.
If Richard Sherman has a say in Thomas’ future, he would have the future Hall-of-Fame safety follow him to the 49ers. On Thursday, Sherman alluded to that prospect.
“If they need me to be, I have no problem with it,” Sherman said about recruiting Thomas. “This is a pretty attractive destination as is.”
Sherman added “money is the best recruiter,” and the 49ers have plenty of it.
They have more than $39 million in cap space, the third-most in the NFL. Thomas is likely to demand a hefty contract, despite his age. Thomas was named to his sixth Pro Bowl last year, and he had three interceptions in four games before getting hurt this year.
The Thomas-to-the-49ers idea makes sense, considering his past partnership with Sherman, familiarity with defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, and vast success in the current system. The Seahawks finished top-3 in scoring defense in five consecutive years, from 2012 to 2016. Thomas would step in as a Day-1 starter for the 49ers, while serving as a mentor to the younger guys, similar to what Sherman has done in his first year with his new team.
“I’d love to have him back in the locker room,” Sherman said. “But I’m sure he’ll have a plethora of opportunities, and I’m sure we’re going to throw our hat in the ring.”