Earl Thomas's broken leg sends him into free agency in the offseason with an unknown future.
The All-Pro safety wasn't the only one who lost out due to the injury.
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported on Monday's edition of The Aftermath that the Kansas City Chiefs were poised to strike a deal with Seattle to bring Thomas to the AFC West.
"Here is how it went going into Sunday: From what I am told, the Seahawks wanted two second-round picks, actually lowered their price to one second-round pick," Rapoport said. "The Kansas City Chiefs were then in the process of freeing up money, creating salary cap space to make room for Thomas' $8.5 million salary. This is something that likely would have happened, and Earl Thomas would have been a member of the Kansas City Chiefs. He just needed more time."
Then the disastrous injury struck, leading to the NFL's top safety being carted from the game. On his way out Thomas gave a one-finger salute to the Seahawks sideline.
Per Rapoport, an extension for Thomas wasn't likely in the cards in K.C., but the Chiefs could have gotten one of football's best rentals while Seattle would have gotten a high draft pick for a player who is likely gone after the season.
The Chiefs currently have $6.6 million of cap space, per Over The Cap. They would have had to move some money around to make the deal work.
Rapoport reported that the Seahawks didn't consider sitting Thomas out to avoid injury.
"I don't want to make it seem like it was something that was going to happen in a matter of hours," he said. "It would have taken some time, but when two sides get close to a trade and you sort of know it's going to happen, the Chiefs could have cleared cap space relatively quickly. I have not heard any consideration of sitting Thomas, but it's probably something that could have happened in a matter of days or weeks."
Instead, Thomas is done for the year -- and likely done in Seattle. The Chiefs don't have an all-star piece to buffer a porous defense. And Seattle doesn't have a second-round pick it could have used to bolster a young roster. Injuries suck.
