Why Cleveland Browns former tackle Joe Thomas is truly one of us

Former Cleveland Browns tackle Joe Thomas has been named to the All-Decade team by Pro Football Focus. Inside, he identifies with Cleveland and the fans.

Joe Thomas, soon-to-be Hall of Fame tackle for the Cleveland Browns, has been named to the Pro Football Focus All-Decade Team. Thomas played 11 seasons for the Browns, including a streak of 10,363 consecutive snaps played.

He richly deserves it. If there was one player to exemplify how an offensive tackle goes about his job, it would be Thomas.

Pro Football Focus describes Thomas and his career:

"Unquestionably one of the best players in NFL history; he was the gold standard for pass protection from the moment he entered the NFL. – Pro Football Focus"

One thing that might make you laugh is this disclaimer:

"He blocked for a succession of quarterbacks who made his life tougher by holding onto the ball longer than they should. – PFF"

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Oh brother, how true! It’s kind of sad that they had to throw that line in there while announcing a very prestigious award. But it is part of the heritage of Joe Thomas, the Cleveland Browns and its fans.

Three things that immediately come to mind are how good he was; how he played an amazing 10,363 consecutive game snaps at left tackle; and the fact that he never played for a playoff team. That is a heartbreaking reminder of how unfair and unforgiving football can be.

Fans sometimes express the sentiment that it would have been great to see Thomas in the playoffs. One year he almost was traded to Denver in 2015, the season they won the Super Bowl.

But Thomas never asked for a trade. Do you know why?

It was because Joe Thomas, more than any other athlete, loved the city of Cleveland, the Dawg Pound and its fans, and even the media. He really did. This is not made-up fluff because of his award. Elizabeth Merrill, writing for ESPN, quotes him as follows:

"It’s a blue-collar city, and for a blue-collar guy like myself, it’s easy to fall in love with the people and kind of the chip on the shoulder that a lot of people have because they feel like they’ve been slighted for so long. It’s so important for me to be here for the turnaround. I don’t want to just get a Super Bowl ring [by] being traded to a dream team. It would feel unsatisfying. Unfulfilling. – Thomas via ESPN"

Ultimately he wasn’t able to make the dream of a turnaround happen as an active player, so he shares the suffering of the Cleveland fans. Or rather, us fans share the suffering of Joe Thomas, because no one else from this generation ever worked as hard and contributed as much as Thomas has to the Cleveland Browns. He was the one mainstay over the years and he suffered through all the defeats, lousy teams and bad coaches. Of course he also suffered the physical abuse and injuries associated with this game.

We also discovered starting late in his career that Joe Thomas is a brilliant conversationalist. The media started to interview him as his consecutive snap streak reached Herculean proportions, and they found out that people really like to hear what he has to say. He is co-host of the Tomahawk Show podcast with Andrew Hawkins, and he is now an analyst for NFL Network. He is smooth, articulate and engaging, and knows everything there is to know about his subject matter.

Now that Thomas is retired as a player, he really is one of us. He is a fan of the team and its players. A very special fan to be sure, but he belongs with the rest of us. He truly loves the fans of the Cleveland Browns and we love him back.

Next. An analytical look at the Browns defensive line. dark

Mr. Thomas, you are an unbelievable treasure for Browns football and the NFL and it was a privilege to watch you play and now hear and watch you on radio, TV and on the internet. Congratulations on a well-deserved honor. You were and are the best.

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