CLEVELAND — Despite never playing in a postseason game, Cleveland Browns left tackle Joe Thomas left the National Football League as one of the most respected offensive linemen in recent memory by coaches, teammates, opponents and members of the media.
Thomas was the expansion-era Browns’ “Iron Man,” as he played more than 10,000 consecutive snaps before suffering a serious injury that led to his retirement from the game in March of 2018, and his accomplishments were recognized by CBSSports.com, who selected him to its All-Decade Team.
“The ultimate iron man, Thomas set an NFL record by playing in 10,363 consecutive snaps,” wrote Sean Wagner-McGough. “In his 11-year career, he was named first team All-Pro six times, with five of them coming in the decade.
“Thomas deserved far better than he got in Cleveland. The Browns were blessed with the best left tackle of the decade, but failed to take advantage of his consistent dominance by refusing to give him a franchise-caliber quarterback to protect.”
Thomas’ last game and final year with the Browns came to a premature end, as he suffered a season-ending arm injury in a 12-9 setback against the Tennessee Titans at FirstEnergy Stadium on October 22, 2017.
Thomas suffered a left triceps injury in the third quarter and did not return to the game. After the game, the Browns confirmed Thomas needed further testing before determining what the rest of the season held for their 10-time Pro Bowl blocker.
Those tests revealed a tear of the triceps tendon and surgery was required to repair the damage.
In December of 2016, Thomas was selected to his 10th consecutive Pro Bowl, and went 10 for 10 in all-star game nods over his first decade as a professional since entering the league via the No. 3 overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft out of the University of Wisconsin.
With that selection, Thomas became the first Browns player ever selected to participate in 10 Pro Bowls.
Thomas joined an elite group of athletes with the 10th straight selection, as defensive tackle Merlin Olsen (Los Angeles Rams), defensive back/running back Mel Renfro (Dallas Cowboys), running back Barry Sanders (Detroit Lions) and linebacker Lawrence Taylor (New York Giants) are the only other players who went 10 for 10 in Pro Bowl appearances over their first decade in the NFL.
Olsen, Renfro, Sanders and Taylor are enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
As a tribute to Thomas, “10,363” was added to The Ring of Honor at FirstEnergy Stadium during the 2018 season.
Along with Thomas, his former teammate and fellow offensive lineman, Mitchell Schwartz, was selected as the best right tackle in the NFL over the decade.