Browns left tackle Joe Thomas is going into the Pro Football Hall of Fame someday.
That’s a given. It’s a slam-dunk – a sure thing if there ever was one.
But in the much more immediate future – such as in the next day or two – where is he going?
The answer to that is hardly a given, a slam dunk or a sure thing.
Is Thomas going off into retirement?
Or is he going to return to the Browns for a 12th season?
No one seems to know, perhaps not even Thomas, and even at this late date.
The Browns, though, are going to need an answer from him soon – very, very soon – because NFL free agency begins on Wednesday and they have to know if he’s going to come back and fill a gaping hole at the most important position on the offensive line on any team, and one of the biggest on any club overall, since he is charged with protecting the quarterback’s blind side.
If Thomas calls it a career and walks off into the sunset, or to the broadcasting booth, then the Browns are going to have to find a left tackle in free agency – if there’s one worth taking – or in the NFL Draft in 6½ weeks. They really don’t have one on their roster right now – not a competent one, at least.
Thomas suffered a torn triceps on Oct. 22 and missed the final nine games of last season, ending his consecutive snaps streak at 10,363, which is generally thought to be an NFL record. It started on the opening play of his rookie year of 2007.
Even without an injury, Thomas has, for several years, been at the point of his career where he’s been evaluating his status at the end of the season. Getting hurt simply added another point – and obviously a huge one — to his decision-making process, especially for a guy who is determined to have a full life, and a healthy one, beyond his football days. In nearly every case, once injuries start occurring to a player, they don’t stop.
But that’s not all. There are two more interesting points to consider.
Even before the Browns traded with the Buffalo Bills to get Tyrod Taylor last Friday, Thomas let it be known that he was a big fan of the veteran quarterback. Will the fact that he would now be teammates with Taylor, and, of course, blocking for him, influence Thomas’s decision?
In addition, was the Browns’ decision to trade for Taylor made not just because it would give them a so-called solid bridge quarterback who could get them to the franchise guy they expect to take at the top of the draft, but also because it might also convince Thomas to continue playing? There is no count in my mind whatsoever that it did indeed play a factor, and a significant one at that.
We may never hear the true answer to that – not just a contrived one so as to be public relations-friendly. But we will soon hear an answer from Thomas as to his career plans, and no matter what it is, it will be big, big news not just in Cleveland, but throughout the NFL.
Stay tuned.
