2023 Hall of Fame: Joe Thomas was a model of consistent greatness for a bad Browns team
The Pro Football Hall of Fame will formally welcome its Class of 2023 on Saturday. This week, Yahoo Sports is highlighting each member of the nine-man class, leading up to the big ceremony.
Joe Thomas famously played 10,363 snaps during his NFL career. Not one of them came in the playoffs.
Thomas' NFL career is unique. He's not the only Hall of Famer to never appear in the postseason, but he is the only one since the NFL expanded its postseason.
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In many ways, Thomas is an encouraging example. No matter how bad the Browns got — the Browns were in the middle of an 0-16 season when Thomas suffered what would end up being a career-ending injury — Thomas showed up game after game to play offensive tackle at the highest level.
But it probably would have been nice to have a little more team success.
Joe Thomas made history
It's impossible to separate Thomas' career from the ineptitude of the Browns around him. It's hard to believe that a team that sunk as low as the Browns did during Thomas' time had one of the greatest left tackles ever, and he never missed a snap until the end.
Since the Browns came back to the NFL, the best thing that has happened to them — aside from perhaps their lone playoff win at the Pittsburgh Steelers at the end of the 2020 season — was Thomas' career. He was the third overall draft pick in 2007 out of Wisconsin. He was a Pro Bowler his first season, and also runner-up in NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year voting behind Adrian Peterson. He'd be a Pro Bowler every other season of his career, until his final year in which he tore his triceps and played in only seven games. He's the only offensive lineman in NFL history, and one of five players overall, to start his career with 10 straight Pro Bowls.
The Browns also went 10-6 during Thomas' rookie season. That's the last time they'd post a winning record during Thomas' career. According to the Hall of Fame, via Cleveland.com, Dick Butkus, Gale Sayers, Larry Wilson and Floyd Little are the only other players to be elected to the hall without ever making the playoffs. The latest any of them played in the NFL was 1975.
For Thomas, being a rare bright spot for the Browns over 24 rough seasons seems to be a point of pride.
“It’s really special for me because the franchise has endured some really tough times,” Thomas said, via the Associated Press. “But those fans are so loyal and passionate, and they still show up and it still is their identity that they’re Browns fans. It’s great for all of Browns Nation.”
Thomas was a model of consistency
The first accolade associated with Thomas' career is his ironman streak. His 10,363 snaps in a row is believed to be an NFL record. He was elite for most of those snaps.
The Browns said Thomas allowed only 30 sacks over 6,680 career pass-blocking snaps, via Pro Football Focus. Thomas' athleticism was a big reason for his dominance. He attributed his unusual technique in pass blocking to his days throwing the shot put in track and field. In high school, he was a state champion in shot put and discus. He was also an all-conference basketball player in high school. In college, he even played some defensive line in one of Wisconsin's bowl games.
Thomas probably deserved a better situation in the NFL. His final two seasons the Browns hit rock bottom, going 1-31. There was a never-ending cast of quarterbacks, multiple coaches who couldn't figure it out and a ton of losses. He had a great career and did so in obscurity because the Browns were never relevant.
But Thomas kept showing up and playing well. He didn't appear in a playoff game, but he'll get his time in the sun in Canton. Browns fans will finally have something to cheer about.
