Seattle Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor may not be back anytime soon, but the team will at least be seeing the return of one half of their elite safety duo in the form of ballhawk Earl Thomas. Thomas, per ESPN's Field Yates, passed his physical on Wednesday. Most importantly ESPN's Adam Schefter followed up Yates' report by quoting a source as saying they'd be "shocked" if Thomes didn't play Week One of the 2015 NFL regular season.
Thomas, of course, suffered a shoulder injury ahead of the Seahawks Super Bowl loss to the New England Patriots. ESPN's Ed Werder reported earlier this offseason that while Thomas was making "steady progress" in his return from post-Super Bowl surgery, his status for Seahawks training camp and Seattle's regular season opener were in doubt.
Considering Chancellor was already a no-show as he looks to get his current deal upgraded, the absence of both of Seattle's elite, All Pro safeties was certainly cause for concern. While there's no telling just how much Thomas will be able to do now that he's passed his physical, it's got to be good news for fans of the team to hear that he'll be back and practicing with the rest of the Legion of Boom.
Thomas, 26, is a former first-round pick. Last year, Thomas registered 97 tackles, three forced fumbles, one interception and six passes defended in the regular season. He added another 25 tackles, two passes defensed and one forced fumble during the Hawks run to their second consecutive Super Bowl.
His importance as a back-end patrolling ballhawk cannot be overstated for a Seahawks defense that is predicated on limited opposing passing games. While he's not as intimidating as Chancellor, Thomas adds an element to the Seattle secondary that simply cannot be easily replaced.
