The Seattle Seahawks have granted free safety Tedric Thompson permission to seek a trade, according to NFL Insider Ian Rapoport.
Thompson, 25, lost his starting job during the 2019 season after struggling to handle the responsibilities in deep coverage as the high safety in Pete Carroll’s cover-3 scheme. He was replaced by Quandre Diggs and immediately placed on the injured reserve, ending his season.
Considering Seattle’s depth at safety heading into 2020, which includes Diggs, Bradley McDougald, Marquise Blair and Lano Hill, it is no surprise Thompson is being given an opportunity to look for employment elsewhere.
If Seattle can swing Thompson for a late-round pick, they will also save $2.3 million in cap space, money that could be used to help shore up other key positions of need, primarily on the defensive side of the ball.
Thompson did record two interceptions and 19 combined tackles in six games last year, and while his flaws are definitely noticeable it’s not hard to imagine a team giving up a sixth or seventh round pick to take a shot on Thompson, as either a depth option at safety or a core special teams contributor.
