‘Sharpening My Toolbox’: Seahawks LB Drake Thomas Not Satisfied After Breakout Season, New Contract

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Seattle Seahawks linebacker Drake Thomas prepares to strike a blocking sled during a drill at training camp. Credit: Corbin Smith/Emerald City Spectrum [/caption]

RENTON, Wash. - Sticking to a philosophy that has yielded tremendous success for the franchise under general manager John Schneider, the Seattle Seahawks have continued to happily open up the checkbook for deserving former undrafted free agents who put in the work and thrive on and off the field.

This past offseason alone, Schneider handed lucrative multi-year contracts to a pair of veterans who previously had been cut by their original teams and joined the Seahawks as waiver wire claims. Among those to sign the dotted line and re-up in Seattle, fourth-year linebacker Drake Thomas inked a two-year, $8 million deal as a restricted free agent, a substantial pay bump with some long-term security and $1.5 million guaranteed after earning less than $900,000 annually in his first three seasons in the NFL.

It’s been quite the ride for Thomas, who originally signed with the Raiders after going undrafted out of North Carolina State, failing to make the initial 53-man roster before the Seahawks came swooping in for the waiver claim.

“It's amazing. I love the people in this building. They believed in me and they gave me opportunity,” Thomas said prior to Friday’s sixth training camp practice. “And to be able to come back in here and continue to play football is a blessing.”

Fitting the mold as the type of player and character that Schneider and coach Mike Macdonald want to build their team around, Thomas quickly endeared himself to his new team upon arrival, carving out an important special teams role for former coach Pete Carroll as a rookie before a severe knee injury ended his season. Despite the setback, he left a positive impression on Macdonald in how battled back from the injury to return during camp the following season, continuing to excel on kick and punt coverage while seeing a handful of snaps on defense.

Quickly emerging as a player Macdonald and the coaching staff could trust to execute and play tough, aggressive football, Thomas took advantage of incumbent starting linebacker Tyrice Knight missing most of training camp and all three preseason games due to a medical condition last August. Though Knight returned to start the first three regular season games, the Seahawks rewarded Thomas for his efforts up to that point by plugging him into the lineup in a Week 4 win over the Cardinals, and he impressed with five tackles, a sack, and a pass breakup in the 23-20 victory.

From there, Thomas didn’t relent the starting job next to All-Pro Ernest Jones, and his all-around skill set as a stout run defender, aggressive blitzer, and fluid cover ‘backer played a key role in transforming an already strong Seattle defense into an even more formidable unit. Starting the final 14 games, he set new career-highs with 96 combined tackles, 3.5 sacks, and seven passes defensed, saving his biggest play for a crucial Week 18 road tilt against San Francisco when he managed to steal a reception away from running back Christian McCaffrey for a red zone interception to help lock up an NFC West title and the No. 1 seed.

While the Seahawks could have simply placed a right of first refusal tender on Thomas in March, which would have been $3.52 million for the 2026 season on a one-year contract, Schneider sweetened the pot and awarded the playmaking linebacker with a $1.5 million signing bonus and incentives that could push the total value of a two-year pact to up to $9 million.

Wearing No. 32 after changing jersey numbers this offseason, the new digits will be the only noteworthy change for him after signing his contract, as Thomas isn’t going to let his newfound wealth alter the mentality and approach that got him to this point. While grateful to stay in Seattle for at least the next two seasons with raise merited by his outstanding production for the No. 1 scoring defense and a Super Bowl-winning squad, he doesn’t see himself as anywhere close to a finished product and wants to pay it forward to the organization for continuing to believe in him as a player.

Even if he’s now a proven veteran whose spot on the team isn’t in question anymore, the chip on Thomas’ shoulder remains a permanent fixture. Following Macdonald’s mantra of “chasing edges,” he relentlessly attacks the fine details every single day looking for ways to improve his craft on the field and in the classroom, still exhibiting the urgency of an undrafted player trying to fight onto the right side of the roster bubble and avoid the chopping block.

“There's multiple areas where I want to continue to improve. Like, never complacent, right?” Thomas commented. “There's always things that you can keep on chasing and adding to your game. Just sharpening my toolbox and fine-tuning the details of play-in, play-out, learning where you can make the most plays.”

As far as clear areas for improvement are concerned, Thomas feels he left some meat on the bone in the tackling department, and the stats bear that out. Per Pro Football Focus, he finished last season with 20 total missed tackles and a 17.1% missed tackle rate, the seventh-worst percentage among qualified linebackers in the regular season and playoffs, leaving plenty of room for growth.

Reiterating his thoughts from conversations prior to the Super Bowl, through both drill work and film study, Thomas also stays engaged in a non-stop pursuit of ways to play faster and more decisively, particularly against the run. Following his injury and lengthy rehabilitation in 2023, it took quite a bit of time for him to re-adjust to the speed of the NFL game, which impacted his reads and ability to flow to the football at the proficiency he wanted to.

But Thomas’ path back to playing at peak level was bolstered by Jones’ arrival as a midseason trade deadline acquisition, with the two players quickly connecting. That chemistry showed on the field when the two paired up last season, flying all over the field and making life tough on both running backs and quarterbacks alike with their elite instincts and athleticism.

Going into his fourth season, Thomas and Jones still have time to continue building a stronger rapport after their season together as starters, and they will have an exciting fresh perspective on the staff to help unlock yet another level from both players in the form of Zach Orr, who reunited with Macdonald as Seattle’s new linebacker coach after spending the past two seasons in Baltimore as a defensive coordinator.

A former player himself who played for Macdonald with the Ravens and one of the rising young coaches in the sport, Orr’s presence has given Thomas another reputable voice to learn from who understands the ins and outs of the Seahawks’ scheme. With chasing edges always prioritized in all facets of the organization, that under-the-radar addition to an already stacked staff could be the perfect supplement to help elevate his play once more in 2026.

“It's been awesome having him, hearing his view on things and getting his input and him helping us in areas that he feels like we can improve on. It's been really cool. He's played in the league, he's played in the scheme, he's coached players that have played at a really high level. So to get his feedback and his coaching, his input, it's been great.”