Joe Thomas selling Cleveland to Kirk Cousins
By Thomas Moore
Cleveland Browns left tackle Joe Thomas took to Twitter on Thursday to make a pitch to quarterback Kirk Cousins.
Joe Thomas has been one of the few (some might say lone) bright spot for the Cleveland Browns since being selected as the No. 3 overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft.
Thomas, one of the best left tackles to ever play the game, has seen pretty much everything imaginable during his 10 years in Cleveland – with one major exception.
He has only experienced one winning season in a Browns uniform and that came during his rookie year.
Thomas missed the final nine games of the 2017 season after suffering a torn triceps during a game against the Tennessee Titans. While he recovers from the injury and ponders if he wants to return for another season, Thomas has been exploring the broadcast space, working with former teammate Andrew Hawkins on The ThomaHawk podcast, and spending time at ESPN’s campus in Bristol, Conn.
On Thursday, Thomas tried on the role of recruiter with a Tweet to Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins, who is going to be in high demand once free agency opens in March:
I hear Cleveland is nice this time of year, that is, if you’d like to have a statue someday... https://t.co/Geo5CzvI5J
— Joe Thomas (@joethomas73) February 15, 2018
You could make MORE money and MORE history in Cleveland than anywhere else, by FAR. Don’t just go and be another quarterback somewhere else! https://t.co/tVPqv8pdPB
— Joe Thomas (@joethomas73) February 15, 2018
If the Browns are interested in Cousins they have a few things working in their favor. They can offer Cousins more money than any other team thanks to the more than $100 million in cap space that general manager John Dorsey has at his disposal.
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They can also try to sell him on the fact that if he is the quarterback that finally leads the Browns to their first NFL title since 1964, the adoration from the fans will be beyond his wildest dreams.
The things they can’t offer him, at least right now, are what Cousins has said are just as important to him as money: he wants to win and play for an organization that knows what it is doing.
That would seem to eliminate the Browns from the jump thanks to head coach Hue Jackson’s 1-31 record the past two seasons, and owner Jimmy Haslam’s propensity for hitting the reset button on a regular basis.
But Dorsey and the newly assembled front office staff all have backgrounds with the Green Bay Packers, a franchise that, at least from a far, seems to know what it is doing.
Dorsey can’t sell Cousins on the past, but he can sell him on the idea of being a key part of a brighter future.
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Whether or not that would be enough to sway Cousins remains to be seen.
But if Dorsey needs any help, it sounds like Thomas would be more than happy to help out with a recruiting pitch.