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Earl Thomas Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Seattle Seahawks Hall of Shame: Worst breakup and more

By Adam Gretz | Last updated 6/15/23

After celebrating the Seahawks by highlighting their players who someday could be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, we flip the script to give you Seattle's Hall of Shame.

Worst breakup: Earl Thomas

Thomas was a mainstay in the secondary and instrumental in a "Legion of Boom" defense that played in two Super Bowls. (Seattle won one.) He also was one of the NFL's best safeties and a fan favorite.

But at the start of the 2018 season, tensions boiled over between Thomas and the team.

Thomas initially refused to report to training camp unless he received a new contract or a trade to a team that would give him one. He finally showed up days before the start of the regular season.

Four games into the season, however, he suffered a brutal leg injury in a game against Arizona. As he was carted off the field with an Aircast on his leg, Thomas flipped Seattle head coach Pete Carroll the bird. He never played another game for the Seahawks, signing instead as a free agent with the Baltimore Ravens in the 2019 offseason.

Earl Thomas tells @JosinaAnderson that he stands by giving Pete Carroll the middle finger. pic.twitter.com/F006fB5f0V
— ESPN (@espn) July 25, 2019

Worst draft pick: QB Dan McGwire

The Seahawks have two of the worst quarterback draft busts in NFL history with McGwire and Rick Mirer. But at least Mirer had some success before being written off as a bust.

McGwire, on the other hand, was failure from the start for Seattle, who drafted him with the 16th overall pick in the 1991 NFL Draft.

After starting just one game as a rookie (and completing only three of seven passes), McGwire received a demotion to third string after a brutal preseason showing in his second season. In all, McGwire — the brother of MLB star Mark McGwire — started only five games in the NFL and threw for only two TDs.

Worst free-agent signing: CB Nate Odomes

Odomes was a Pro Bowl cornerback for the Buffalo Bills before signing a four-year, $8.4 million contract with the Seahawks in free agency before the 1994 season.

Odomes badly injured his knee in an offseason pickup basketball game, ending his 1994 season before it could even begin. He re-injured the same knee a year later and also missed the 1995 season.

"It's a big blow for us," head coach Dennis Erickson told the media. "Nate has worked so hard to get back and hasn't played for a year. Now it's another year. Who knows what's going to happen?"

After Seattle released him, Odomes finished his NFL career in Atlanta in 1996.

Worst loss: Super Bowl XLIX vs. New England

The Seahawks owned a 24-14 lead going into the fourth quarter, but Tom Brady led a comeback to give the Patriots a 28-24 lead.

Late in the fourth quarter, Seattle positioned itself inside New England's 5-yard line after an acrobatic catch by wide receiver Jermaine Kearse.

After a Marshawn Lynch run to the one-yard line, the Seahawks faced a second-and-goal with 26 seconds left. Instead of running with Lynch, the Seahawks passed. Cornerback Malcolm Butler jumped the route and made an interception to secure the stunning win.

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