When the Cleveland Browns go on the clock in Green Bay on Friday for Rounds 2 and 3 of the NFL Draft, former Browns offensive lineman and eight-time All-Pro Joe Thomas will announce the pick.
Thomas, a 6-foot-6, 312-pound lineman, dominated up front for the Browns from 2007 to 2017. The Brookfield, Wisconsin, native was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2007 draft out of Wisconsin and became a full-time starter right away.
Joe Thomas Eclipsed Jim Brown for a Franchise Record With Browns
Thomas started 167 career games and made 10 Pro Bowls along the way. He didn’t miss a single game until the 2017 season, when a triceps injury limited him to just seven contests.
Despite his dominance and durability, Thomas retired in March 2018 after an 11-year career with the Browns, with a pending knee replacement looming at the time.
He holds the franchise record for 10 straight Pro Bowl appearances, surpassing Browns legend Jim Brown, who had nine in a row. Thomas also logged 10,363 consecutive offensive snaps during his career.
Since retirement, Thomas has worked as an NFL Network analyst. He also spent a year coaching with the Munich Ravens of the European League of Football.
Thomas Played Despite Memory Loss
While Thomas was one of the most durable among the former players announcing picks at the draft, he dealt with symptoms no player wants to see. He revealed in 2017 that he played through memory loss during the later part of his career in an interview on “In Depth With Graham Bensinger.”
“I’m already seeing memory loss, and maybe that’s just because of my old age or maybe it’s football, it’s hard to tell,” Thomas told Bensinger. “I mean, there’s no double-blind studies when it comes to people’s life. It’s just a part, I think, of sometimes getting older. And it’s hard to tell it’s because of football or because you’re 32 and you’re not 21 anymore and you have a lot of stuff going in your life.”
Though he only played one more season, Thomas said at the time that memory loss wouldn’t stop him.
“There’s definitely a concern,” Thomas acknowledged. “But the way I look at it is just about every profession in our society: There’s some lasting effects. It’s just the way that our society is set up. People have to work.”
“If I was a stone mason or if I was a painter or building bridges or whatever, there’s going to be some wear and tear on your body and your brain. And that’s just the way it is,” he added. “To be able to live the lifestyle and provide for my family the way that football has been able to do, to me it’s a trade-off that I’m willing to accept.”
