CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Joe Thomas is one step away from immortality.
Wednesday night, Thomas was named a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2023.
“It's a ton of emotion, right,” Thomas said on NFL Network moments after his name was revealed. “You just kind of well up with excitement when you get to hear your name as one of the finalists and you get an opportunity to kind of stroll down memory lane and just think about all the people that helped get you here and all the great teammates that you had a chance to play with that were such a big part of being able to get yourself as one of the Hall of Fame finalists.”
Drafted by the Browns third overall in 2007, Thomas was a 10-time Pro Bowler and eight-time All Pro at left tackle.
Thomas played in 167 consecutive games without missing a single snap before tearing his left triceps tendon against Tennessee in October 2017 ending his consecutive snaps streak, and ultimately his career.
Unfortunately over 11 seasons, Thomas and the Browns never made the playoffs. The team changed GMs, head coaches and offenses almost as fast as they switched quarterbacks.
“I'm sure there's some people out there saying, well, he never made the playoffs. How could he have been that great of an offensive lineman,” Thomas said. “And to those people, I guess I really don't have much of a comeback other than, hey, look at the list of quarterbacks that I played for. I'm not seeing any Hall of Famers on that list right now. Lot of great dudes, but I'm not sure that I had any quarterbacks that really had an opportunity to elevate the team to be one of those guys that wins a Super Bowl that can put that on their resume for the Hall of Fame.”
Thomas blocked for 20 starting quarterbacks – Charlie Frye, Derek Anderson, Ken Dorsey, Brady Quinn, Bruce Gradkowski, Jake Delhomme, Seneca Wallace, Colt McCoy, Brandon Weeden, Thaddeus Lewis, Brian Hoyer, Jason Campbell, Johnny Manziel, Conner Shaw, Josh McCown, Austin Davis, Robert Griffin III, Cody Kessler, Kevin Hogan and Deshaun Kizer.
Throw in Josh Johnson and Charlie Whitehurst and that’s 22 players who lined up behind center. A total of 29 different players threw a pass including skill position players Josh Cribbs, Terrelle Pryor, Mohamed Massaquoi, Peyton Hillis, Josh Gordon and Duke Johnson Jr.
“I feel like if anything, for me, it maybe is part of my resume to try to go into the Hall of Fame that I did play with so many quarterbacks and was still able to have All Pros and Pro Bowls on my resume,” Thomas said, “because it's a lot easier when Tom Brady's behind you every single day and he's throwing the ball in one and a half in two seconds and you're hearing the same voice in the huddle, you're run running the same offenses. But for me, I had a lot of different voices, three or four, it seemed like almost every single season, we were running different offenses.”
Thomas also played for six head coaches, seven GMs and two owners.
“There was a lot of turmoil but I also kind of prided myself that no matter what was going on around me, that I was going to be the stability on that offensive line, the stability on that offense, and that team and that consistency was something that I prided myself in,” Thomas said.
Thomas was named the Browns’ Walter Payton Man of the Year in 2010, 2012 and 2016. He was a finalist for the league award in 2012.
The local chapter of the Pro Football Writers of America named the Player of the Year award in Thomas’ honor at his retirement ceremony. He won that award as a player twice in 2014 and 2016.
Thomas was also named the Dino Lucarelli Good Guy award winner for his work in the community and cooperation with the media twice as well – in 2010 and 2013 – by local members of the PFWA.
Since his retirement following the 2017 season, no one has worn Thomas’ No. 73 for the Browns.
Thomas was inducted into the Browns Legends program earlier this year.
His consecutive snap streak of 10,363 was placed in the Ring of Honor that adorns the façade of the upper deck at FirstEnergy Stadium in 2018.
In retirement, Thomas has embarked on a highly successful multimedia career, including as an analyst with NFL Network, and he has spent time in Berea throughout the year working with the team’s current offensive linemen.
The class of 2023 will be voted on Super Bowl weekend by a panel of 49 members and will be unveiled at NFL Honors.