The Seattle Seahawks are facing a lot of uncertainty on the defensive side of the ball this offseason. Michael Bennett probably won’t be back; Cliff Avril's and Kam Chancellor’s careers are in jeopardy; Sheldon Richardson is in the midst of contract negotiations; Richard Sherman might be available for trades; and Earl Thomas is making threats if he doesn’t get a contract extension and could also potentially be dealt.

But according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, chances are much higher that Seattle does indeed give Thomas the new deal he wants over trading him away.

“As far as Earl Thomas (is concerned), my understanding is it's much more likely they get a new deal done with him rather than trade him. Unless, of course, they got back a huge allotment of picks, in which case they'd probably consider it.”

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Thomas, 28, has been with the Seahawks for his entire eight-year NFL career. During that time, he’s established himself as one of the best safeties in the game and has been a pivotal part of the Legion of Boom’s remarkable success. Despite suffering a scary broken leg in 2016, he looked as good as ever last season.

The thought of losing Thomas would be a tough pill to swallow for Seahawks fans. Thankfully, that scenario doesn’t appear too likely unless some team is willing to blow Seattle away with a blockbuster offer for the superstar safety.

There’s a decent chance the Seahawks’ defense will be significantly different from the one they’ve had over the last few years. Nevertheless, it’s likely that they’ll still have at least one familiar face in Thomas patrolling the middle of the field and doing what he does better than just about anyone else in the league.