I don’t think left tackle Joe Thomas is returning to the Browns.

I believe the future Pro Football Hall of Famer is retiring.

I hope I’m wrong — I really, truly do, because I think he still has some tread left on the tires, so to speak – but I’m afraid I’m not. I’m afraid I’m spot-on right.

I think it’s close – very close, actually – in Thomas’s mind. That’s why it’s taking him so long to make his decision. He’s wavering – waffling — back and forth, thinking one day that he should retire and then the next day thinking that he should return.

What’s a guy to do?

Good question. Who knows, really?

Apparently not even Thomas.

So why, then, do I think Thomas is retiring?

That’s easy. It’s simply because he hasn’t made a decision yet.

With that, Thomas really has made a decision subconsciously. He’s retiring, because he can’t get the consistent desire to want to return. That’s dangerous for a player to be waffling about playing.

Football is a rough, tough game, and you need to be all in, all the time, to play. If Thomas returns and his heart’s not really in it, then he could get hurt. That’s the way it would be for any player, not just him.

Think of it this way: You’re a guy and you’re thinking about asking your girl to marry you. It’s been on your mind for a while, but you can’t decide for sure.

You wake up on Tuesday morning and think that this is the day you’ll pop the big question, But Tuesday comes and goes and the only thing that gets popped is some popcorn that you munch on while watching more NCAA Basketball Tournament coverage.

You wake up Wednesday morning and that feeling of question popping has popped. It’s gone.

Still, you have convinced yourself that you have yet to make your decision.

The truth is, though, that you have made a decision, for indecision – waffling – is indeed a decision. It’s to retire.

So, see ya, Joe. We will really, really miss you.