Earl Thomas rumors: 5 best fits in NFL free agency

2. Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys have long been tied to Thomas via trade rumors, toeing the line of tampering before that idea was officially dismissed by the league. They have a lot of internal contract considerations this offseason, with DeMarcus Lawrence, Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott and Amari Cooper all in line for new deals. But Dallas has $45.7 million in cap space right now (via Spotrac), and they are in good position to give Thomas a deal along the lines he’s going to be looking for.

The Cowboys were 13th in the league against the pass last year, with 39 sacks (tied for 16th in the league. But a noted deficiency came in takeaways, with just nine interceptions (tied for 26th in the league). Primary free safety (14 starts) Xavier Woods tied for the team lead with two picks, but he could easily shift to strong safety to accommodate a move to sign Thomas while Jeff Heath gets rightfully pushed to a backup role.

It’s possible Thomas takes a bit of a discount to sign with Dallas, which he may not willingly do for another team. But no matter what, the Cowboys need a ball hawk in the back end of their defense and Thomas should be near the top of their list of outside free agents to pursue.