Baltimore Ravens: Top options to replace Earl Thomas at safety

Who are the top options for the Baltimore Ravens to replace Earl Thomas?

The Baltimore Ravens were forced to cut ties with one of the best safeties in the NFL over the last 20 years, Earl Thomas, just one year after he signed a four-year contract worth $55 million in total money.

Thomas had established himself as one of the premier safeties in the game in his years with the Seattle Seahawks, but his time with Seattle came to a bitter end and Thomas had been talking about playing for other teams for at least two years prior to his actual departure.

In particular, Thomas has talked about playing for the Dallas Cowboys, who are the early favorites to land him now that he’s been released for violating the team’s code of conduct.

The bizarre situation with Thomas aside, what are the Ravens going to do at the safety position now?

Baltimore had already let go of Tony Jefferson early in the offseason, so their current projected starters would be Chuck Clark and DeShon Elliott if it’s just ‘next man up’.

Chuck Clark very quietly earned a second contract with the Ravens this offseason after playing 76.33 percent of the defensive snaps a season ago. The Ravens will have to replace over 1,000 snaps lost between Thomas (over 800) and Tony Jefferson (over 200) from last season, and in typical Ravens fashion, it’s doubtful they will leave any stone unturned.

Let’s take a look at their options to replace Thomas in-house, through free agency, and potentially through a trade.