The months-long Earl Thomas-to-Dallas Cowboys speculation just won’t die. But if there’s a logical time for any deal to finally get done, it’ll be during the NFL Draft.

According to ESPN’s Dan Graziano, the Cowboys are still not done with their pursuit of the star safety. Their talks have reportedly centered around Dallas’ second-rounder, but there’s also the small matter of the Cowboys needing to take care of Thomas’ long-term future before a deal gets done:

There’s a sense around the league that the Dallas Cowboys aren’t done making a push for Thomas, who’d fill a major need on their defense. Two sources said the trade discussions between Seattle and Dallas have centered around the Cowboys’ second-round pick (No. 50 overall) but that no deal will be done until the Cowboys figure out whether they can sign Thomas long term. … If a deal gets struck, expect news of a Thomas contract extension with Dallas to follow.

Given Thomas’ connections to the Cowboys and Texas, it’s not hard to see them coming to terms on some sort of long-term deal so that he can get to go back home. So that would still leave their negotiations with Seattle as the most likely sticking point for any deal.

A second-rounder certainly seems like a more reasonable price than the first- and third-rounders the Seahawks were supposedly asking for previously. But there are likely still other parts of the deal to iron out. The clock is ticking, though, so the Cowboys better get a move on if they aim to get a deal done by the end of the draft.