The Cleveland Browns have not had a lot of historically great players since their return to the NFL in 1999. The decades of mostly losing has been led by poor draft picks and free agent signings.
One man stands above the rest for the Browns since their return: LT Joe Thomas.
The third overall selection in the 2007 NFL draft, Thomas made a career out of high-level consistency despite the lack of quality play around him. The model of availability, Cleveland’s left tackle played in all 167 games before a torn tricep ended his 2017 season and career.
Not only did Thomas play in every game but he also holds the unofficial record for consecutive snaps played at 10,363.
Thomas is now eligible to join the immortals in the Hall of Fame:
With this weekend past, it’s not too early to look ahead to next year. First-year eligible players for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2023 include Darrelle Revis, Dwight Freeney, Joe Thomas and Jahri Evans.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 8, 2022
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There are 17 Browns in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. While a vast majority are historical names like Jim Brown, Paul Brown, Otto Graham and Paul Warfield, TE Ozzie Newsome is the Hall of Famer who has played the most recent.
Thomas will change that when he is inducted. While many expect he will get in next year, Hall of Famer voters can be hard to predict for a variety of reasons. In the end, Joe Thomas and Hall of Fame will go together, whenever it happens.