Some are questioning why Thomas took so long to announce the move and wonder if it cost the Browns potential replacements in free agency (Like those are hanging around on great offensive linemen trees) by waiting.
My guess is that the Browns were in the loop on the decision all along and just decided to give Thomas the wide berth to perhaps change his mind if he wanted to return.
Honestly, I have a feeling that we may not have seen the last of Joe Thomas on the field.
I think there is a remote chance that should the Browns show legitimate signs of improvement to the point of considering themselves possible playoff contenders for 2019 and if the various ailments and injuries heal up enough that Thomas feels good, I could see a scenario that Thomas could consider a comeback then.
Joe Thomas certainly deserved better than one winning season in eleven and that in his rookie season, so he finished his career with ten losing seasons in a row, but that didn't diminish his career and I'd rank him with Orlando Pace and Jonathan Ogden as the best tackle in pro football over the last twenty years.
Pace might have been a better run blocker and Ogden's footwork might have made him Thomas's superior in pass protection, but I might argue as an all-around tackle that Joe Thomas might have been a little better than either, which would be more than enough to send him to Canton in five years.
Joe Thomas leaves Cleveland as one of the last of his kind.
Thomas was a throwback that played all the time, gave back to his community and didn't make headlines for the wrong reasons.
The retirement of Thomas also made me think a bit when I remembered that Thomas not only played his entire eleven-year career as a Brown, but he also spanned the history of this blog.
The blog turns eleven in less than two weeks, but the drafting of Thomas was covered here in the first month and as I look back on that selection that I wrote that "Thomas will be a cornerstone in Cleveland for the next ten years", it made me think about feeling bad for Thomas, but I felt bad for me too.
Thomas might have played for ten losing teams, but I watched and wrote about them all as well- and when an offensive tackle is your best offensive player, not only will you not be very exciting, more often than not, you won't be very good either.
Back later with a preview of tonight's Jose Ramirez-Amir Imam fight in the boxing challenge.
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