The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Even hurt, Thomas gives all to Browns
Joe Thomas transcends everything that has been wrong with the team for nearly two decades.
Joe Thomas, unequivocally the Browns’ best player in the expansion era, transcends everything that has been wrong with the team for nearly two decades.
Thomas is on injured reserve recovering from triceps surgery. His left arm is encased like a sausage in an Ace bandage. A hinged brace on his elbow restricts the elbow’s movement to only a couple of inches at this point in his recovery so the repaired tendon doesn’t become detached.
It would have been easy, and no one would have given it a second thought, had Thomas decided to recover at home and check in at Browns headquarters in Berea only when required
by team doctors, but that isn’t how he’s wired.
Thomas was at practice Nov. 8 and 9, tutoring Spencer Drango, his replacement at left tackle, as the Browns prepared for their Nov. 12 game against the Lions.
The Browns are 0-8. They are 12-point underdogs, yet Thomas was coaching Drango and others on the offensive line as though the game in Detroit is for a playoff spot.
“He’s doing a lot more helping the young guys — film study and stuff,” left guard Joel Bitonio said. “He has a lot more free time to do that, and I think he’s actually helping (defensive end Myles) Garrett, as well, trying to teach him what to look for in (offensive) tackles in the film room.
“It’s why he’s the best. He’s given so much to the city, this team. You wouldn’t expect it any other way. It was weird when he wasn’t in meetings, recovering after surgery. I kind of felt lost without him for a little bit, but he’s been back in there and he’s been helping out.”
Thomas will be on the sideline at Ford Field when the Browns play the Lions. Coach Hue Jackson will be happy to have him there.
“He’s a football player by trade and a mentor and a coach when he isn’t,” Jackson said. “I think it’s hard to let that go. He’s invited to anything we have. He knows that. He can run the meeting if he wants.”
The term “He’s a true professional” gets tossed around loosely by coaches and teammates, but the phrase does not fully describe Thomas.
Anyone who cares to know knows all the numbers by now — 10 straight Pro Bowls, 167 consecutive starts, 10,363 plays with never missing a snap.
What really sets Thomas apart is he has played so well so long for a team that has been so bad for so long. And it isn’t just his blocking that week in and week out earns him the top grade among left tackles from Pro Football Focus. Teammates marvel at the way Thomas studies his opponents, even if it’s one he’s faced more than 10 times, such as Steelers linebacker James Harrison.
But now Thomas is at a crossroads. The rehab from his injury will take from six to nine months. He was injured Oct. 22, which means training camp next summer might be starting before he is ready to go.
Does he really want to go through the grind again? On a team that might be better in 2018, but one still unlikely to be a playoff contender?
“To me, when I look at the three factors — are you playing well, are you healthy and do you love it?” Thomas said. “I feel like I was playing well, and I still love it. It’s going to come down to ‘Am I feeling like, from a personal health standpoint, is it something that I can do for another year?’ ”
Thomas has played through knee pain his whole career. The triceps injury made his left arm useless. There is nothing he can do to accelerate the healing process, which makes the timing of a possible return so critical. He won’t make a decision until sometime in 2018.
Ironically, the Browns were set to give Thomas a $3 million raise over 2017 and 2018 before the injury. Thomas appreciates the fact management went through with the raise despite the injury, but the money is not the only enticement that would lure him back.
“If I want to come back, if I can come back, is it going to be for trying to pursue a championship or are we trying to pursue a playoff berth or are we trying to pursue a first pick overall?” Thomas said. “Those are all things that could play into that decision.”
It is difficult to imagine the Browns starting the 2018 season without No. 73 anchoring the left side of the line, although that day will come at some point.
It’s even more difficult to imagine Thomas not being at the top of his game.
Schudel can be reached at JSchudel@News-Herald. com; on Twitter: @jsproinsider