Pete Carroll on Earl Thomas: Nothing better than beating guys we love

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Ravens safety Earl Thomas is headed back to Seattle to face the Seahawks for the first time since departing as a free agent this offseason and his return was a topic of conversation around both teams on Wednesday.

Thomas said nothing has really hit him yet in terms of an emotional response to going back to the place where he played for the last nine seasons. He added that he hoped that the crowd’s response to him would be one of love and his former head coach Pete Carroll said that there will be love from the team.

“There’s nothing better than beating the guys we love,” Carroll said.

When Thomas was last on the field for the Seahawks, he flashed his middle finger at Carroll and others on the Seahawks sideline. Carroll said at his Wednesday press conference that he hasn’t spoken to Thomas much since that happened, but that his “heart’s wide open to” Thomas and that the safety holds a special place in the franchise’s history because of all he did during his time with the team.