Report: Warrant issued for the arrest of former Texas Longhorns star Earl Thomas

Free agent safety Earl Thomas hasn’t played in the NFL since 2019, but recently stated that he wanted to return to the National Football League. His chance of returning to the league was already highly unlikely, but now that possibility is even slimmer, after Friday’s news.

A judge in Austin, Texas issued a warrant for Thomas’ arrest after he violated a court protective order by sending threatening messages to a woman about her and her children, the Austin American Statesman reported. The former NFL and Texans Longhorns’ star faces a third-degree felony charge for allegedly violating the protective order two or three times within the past 12 months, according to the court records obtained by the Austin American Statesman.

The judge signed the warrant on April 27, but Thomas has yet to be officially booked into the Travis County jail. It’s been painful to watch Thomas’ fall from grace over the past few years, as he was truly one of the best safeties to play the game.

More on Thomas’ college/NFL career

Thomas redshirted his first year for the Texas Longhorns, then he immediately displayed the tremendous talent football fans saw during his prolific career. In 2008, he started all 13 games at strong safety for the ‘Horns, racking up 63 tackles and 17 pass breakups–the most ever by a freshman in Texas football history. That season, he earned freshman All-American honors from numerous media outlets. Then as a redshirt sophomore in 2009, Thomas intercepted two passes, returning two of them for touchdowns. Following that season, he was named a consensus All-American.

Thomas entered the 2010 NFL Draft and was selected by the Seattle Seahawks (14th overall selection) in the first round. Thomas was named to the NFL’s All-Decade team for the 2010s. The Texas native was also named a first-team All-Pro three times from 2012-2014. During his NFL career, Thomas made seven Pro Bowl appearances and became an integral piece of the Seahawks’ famed “Legion of Boom” defensive unit.

The defense’s proudest moment came in the 2013 Super Bowl, when the Seahawks’ defense helped propel the franchise to a 43-8 throttling of Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos. The Broncos’ offense set numerous records throughout the 2013 regular season — including scoring 606 points (37.9 points per game) — the highest total for any team in the NFL playing a 16-game schedule. Thomas and the other members of the Legion of Boom shut them down in the Super Bowl – -limiting them to their lowest scoring output of the season. His final season in the National Football League (2019), he suited up for the Baltimore Ravens — snatching two interceptions and tallying two sacks.