CANTON, Ohio — Earlier this month, the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced its 2023 class, which includes former Cleveland Browns left tackle Joe Thomas, as well as former New York Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis and defensive lineman Joe Klecko.
In addition to the enshrinement, Thomas, Revis and Klecko's former will also be represented on Thursday, Aug. 3, when the Browns and Jets square off in the annual Pro Football Hall of Fame Game at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton.
The game will be broadcast nationally on NBC and locally on WKYC.
The exhibition matchup, which marks the start of the NFL's preseason schedule, will be the first time that Cleveland has participated in the Hall of Fame Game since the Browns faced and beat the Dallas Cowboys in 1999. The Jets, meanwhile, last played in the game in 1992, when they defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 41-14.
That the Browns were chosen as one of the two teams participating in this year's Hall of Fame Game hardly comes as a surprise, considering Thomas' status as one the headliners in this year's Hall of Fame class. The No. 3 pick of the 2007 NFL Draft, Thomas spent the entirety of his 11-year career in Cleveland, earning 10 consecutive Pro Bowl selections and eight All-Pro honors while playing what is believed to be a record 10,363 consecutive offensive snaps before suffering a torn triceps that would end his 2017 season, and ultimately, his career.
Also selected in the first round of the 2007 draft, Revis, was a seven-time Pro Bowl selection and four-time All-Pro during an 11-year career that also included stints with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs, in addition to the Jets. The 1981 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Klecko amassed 78 career sacks while starring a member of the Jets' famed "New York Sack Exchange."