The Cleveland Browns haven’t had much success over the course of their history, especially since making their return to the NFL in 1999 as an expansion team, with just one playoff win over that time frame.
Despite the futility, the team has had some outstanding players over the past 25 years, with one Hall of Famer recently landing a huge recognition for his accomplishments.
Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report recently put together the NFL’s All-Quarter-Century Team, and Joe Thomas earned the nod at left tackle to represent the Browns.
“It’s hard for any quarterback to thrive without an elite left tackle, and the past quarter-century has featured a few of them. While our LT vote wasn’t all that close, Jason Peters, Jonathan Ogden, Orlando Pace and Andrew Whitworth did receive votes. Joe Thomas was the top vote-getter, which wasn’t stunning. The most recent Cleveland Browns Hall of Famer was a 10-time Pro Bowler and six-time first-team All-Pro who played what is believed to be an NFL-record 10,363 consecutive snaps,” Knox wrote.
Thomas was the lone bright spot for many abysmal Browns teams during his 11 years with the team, during which he made ten Pro Bowls, six All-Pro nods, and didn’t miss a snap until his final season.
As great as his contemporaries were, there wasn’t much of a case to be made for anybody else over the past 25 years.
He is joined on the offensive line by Alan Faneca, Jason Kelce, Zack Martin, and Lane Johnson to form what would have been an impenetrable unit.
Dawand Jones will be Cleveland’s starting left tackle heading into this season and will look to make Thomas proud in his first full season as the undisputed blind side starter.
Congrats to Thomas on yet another accolade to add to his mantle.
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