5 powerful quotes honoring Joe Thomas' Hall of Fame career with Browns

2. John Harbaugh humorously applauds Thomas' 10,000th career snap

When Thomas was approaching his 10,000th career snap in the NFL, a division rival and highly-respected head coach, John Harbaugh of the Baltimore Ravens, had this to say about Thomas:

"You can't be voted in the Hall of Fame when you're still playing, right? I think he should consider making a move toward the Hall of Fame and retire because we're getting tired of playing against him." -Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, via AP

That's high praise coming from a bitter rival and one who had to deal with game-planning against Thomas for many, many years.

3. Longtime quarterback Josh McCown sheds light on Thomas the person

Josh McCown was in the NFL for a whopping 18 seasons, having played for nine different teams during the regular seasons of his career. He was in plenty of locker rooms, having played behind countless offensive linemen, but spoke no higher of anyone than he did of Thomas:

"He’s like an all-timer. I’ve played this game for a long time with a lot of teams and a lot of teammates, and he’s got to be one of my all-time favorites. He’s a good man, a high-character person, and he works his tail off and shares his knowledge with others, serves his team to the utmost, and he’s great at his job. Not good, but great. He’s a special dude," said McCown, via AP

McCown has always been regarded as one of those high-character players, as long as he's been around the league, and for him to also recognize Thomas as a similar man speaks volumes. Game recognizes game, as they say, except this goes beyond the game. This is about Thomas' integrity, more than anything else.