“We are so proud Joe Thomas will be recognized, appropriately, as a first-ballot Hall of Famer,” Dee and Jimmy Haslam said. “Joe epitomized the standard of excellence in everything he did for the Cleveland Browns organization and for our community. He was the essence of all you want in a player, as a teammate and representing the Browns organization. His extraordinary accomplishments and endurance playing 10-plus years without missing a single snap is unparalleled. How he went about his work each day was equally inspiring, the model of consistency, resiliency and class.
“Beyond being one of the best in NFL history, he was just as exceptional off the field. Joe and his wife, Annie have made an impact on so many people in Cleveland and have done so in a humble, unassuming way. He is just a tremendous human being. We are so happy that Joe will take his rightful place among our game’s greatest in Canton.”
It’s an honor Cleveland always knew was coming for Thomas, who assembled one of the most decorated resumes of any left tackle in NFL history in an 11-year career with the Browns. He was voted to 10 Pro Bowls and is the only offensive lineman in league history to be named to 10 consecutive Pro Bowls to start a career.
He also earned eight All-Pro honors, six of them as a first-team selection, and totaled them all even though the Browns shuffled through 20 different starting quarterbacks and struggled to build a roster capable of finding consistent success during his career.
But Thomas never quit on the Browns, as evidenced by his most improbable career achievement.
For 10,363 consecutive snaps — spanning from his first NFL snap in 2007 to his last after suffering an injury during the 2017 season — Thomas never left the field. His snap streak is believed to be the longest by any player in NFL history, and Thomas kept it alive during his entire career by playing through injuries and enduring the constant heartbreak of losing seasons.
“The one theme that has been,…
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