Earl Thomas says reporting to Seattle Seahawks was not first choice

Thomas, a three-time first-team All-Pro, held out from all offseason activities and didn't report to training camp.

Seattle Seahawks free safety Earl Thomas is ending his holdout, but his announcement posted to Instagram on Wednesday made it clear reporting to the team was not his first choice.

"I worked my whole life for this..... I've never let me teammates, city or fans down as long as I've lived and don't plan on starting this weekend," he wrote, his words accompanied by a photo of him sitting on a weight bench. "With that being said, the disrespect has been well noted and will not be forgotten. Father Time may have an undefeated record but best believe I plan on taking him into triple overtime when it comes to my career."

Thomas, a three-time first-team All-Pro, held out from all offseason activities and didn't report to training camp. He wanted a new multi-year deal, and if the Seahawks didn't accommodate his request, Thomas wanted to be traded. He singled out Dallas as his preferred destination, but that didn't happen.

The Cowboys had been offering a third-round draft pick, and ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Wednesday that the Cowboys upped their offer to a second-round pick in the last week. However, the Seahawks rejected the offer.

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported last weekend that multiple other teams were interested in dealing for Thomas but hadn't met Seattle's demands.

Whether or not Thomas plays in Sunday's opener at the Denver Broncos remains unclear. Head coach Pete Carroll told reporters Thomas is practicing Wednesday, adding, "he's ready. He wants to get back to playing football.''

The team will assess Thomas' conditioning level and make a decision later in the week about his availability, but Carroll also praised backup Tedric Thompson, calling the 2017 fourth-round pick the "highlight guy" from training camp.

Asked about Thomas' future, Carroll said, "We'd like him to be a Seahawk for the rest of his career," but noted such things will be dealt with down the road.

Thomas, 29, is slated to earn $8.5 million in 2018. The team reportedly agreed to waive most of his fines for missing training camp, but if his holdout had continued into the regular season, he would have lost $500,000 based on a 17-week schedule.

In 121 career games (all starts) Thomas has 25 interceptions and 642 tackles.

He communicated his reasons for his holdout in an article he wrote for The Players Tribune in August.

"I'm standing strong on this - because I've got to. I'm standing strong when it comes to getting what I deserve. I've been one of the best defensive players in this league for the better part of a decade, and the numbers show that this team plays much better with me than without me. Beyond that, I still have some great years of football left in my tank. I'm not even close to slowing down. I'm still working to get better."

Thomas continued: "If you're risking your body to deliver all of this value to an organization, then you deserve some sort of assurance that the organization will take care of you if you get hurt. It's that simple," he said. "This isn't new, and this isn't complicated. It's the reason I'm holding out - I want to be able to give my everything, on every play, without any doubt in my mind."

Carroll also confirmed that linebacker K.J. Wright, who had a knee scope in August, will miss Sunday's game and rookie fifth-round pick Shaquem Griffin will start in his place. Griffin impressed during the preseason both on defense and special teams.

The statuses of defensive end Dion Jordan (shin) and guard D.J. Fluker (finger) remain up in the air.