Kyle Shanahan removes 49ers from Earl Thomas discussion

The San Francisco 49ers are one of a handful of teams that have been mentioned as potential Earl Thomas suitors, but we can now cross them off the list.

Kyle Shanahan was asked about Thomas on Tuesday, and the Niners head coach said the team never had interest.

Kyle Shanahan was asked if the #49ers were interested in Earl Thomas once he became available.

@49ers pic.twitter.com/vY4LInkSfG

— Fourth and Nine (@fourth_nine) August 25, 2020

“I’m real happy with our safeties. Nothing against Earl, but there wasn’t interest because we have our team,” Shanahan said. “We have the guys we want in our spots. This is how we planned it and we’ve got some good competition there too with the guys they’ve got behind them. We’re excited about our group.”

The Houston Texans and Dallas Cowboys are two other teams that have been linked to Thomas. While Deshaun Watson sent a strong hint that he would be interested in adding Thomas, longtime Texans reporter John McClain says Houston has “zero interest.”

That leaves the Dallas Cowboys as the most obvious suitor, though their level of interest remains a mystery. One report on Tuesday claimed they will not pursue Thomas, but Jerry Jones emphatically dismissed that.

Thomas was released by the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, which was two days after he got into an altercation with a teammate at practice. The issues he was having ran much deeper than that one incident, however.