According to Joe Thomas, success could be ‘right around the corner’ for the Cleveland Browns

Joe Thomas probably raised a few eyebrows during his Hall of Fame induction speech around the NFL on Saturday afternoon in Canton. During his speech, Thomas recognized his family, former coaches, teammates and many employees of the Cleveland Browns organization during his time spent with the team.

Perhaps the most noteworthy among them is when it came to addressing the Haslams, (including owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam but also extended to their daughter Whitney and son in law J.W. Johnson) Thomas said “you guys have built a first class organization in Cleveland, and the success is right around the corner and I cannot wait to be the biggest fan when it comes.”

Jimmy Haslam seemed to be holding back emotions as the camera panned in on him while Thomas delivered those empowering words. For most Browns fans it is easy to understand the sense of pride Haslam must have felt in that moment. For fans, today served as a bit of a consolation prize to see our most coveted player since the team returned in 1999, finally get the accolade and recognition he rightfully deserved. For Haslam, it had to feel very similar but in his case I would probably liken it to a father watching their child accomplish a great feat.

While the Haslams weren’t the owners of the Browns when the team drafted him with the third overall pick of the 2007 draft, they were around long enough to form a very special relationship with the guy who became the face of their franchise.

You see, when Thomas was in the peak of his career, success for the team was never “right around the corner,” much less in sight at all. The Haslam’s ownership tenure has been well documented with the growing pains from the missteps along the way. With the revolving door at both head coach and quarterback, which happen to be pretty important, it’s easy to understand why the Browns were not able to put winning seasons together during Thomas’s career.

The Haslams, however, seem to have weathered the storms of their inexperience to right the ship that is this organization. It began with the hire of the “baseball guy” in Paul Depodesta, and continued with the additional hires of fellow ivy-leaguers Sashi Brown and now ultimately Andrew Berry as GM and Kevin Stefanski as Head Coach.

While you could certainly describe the past seven seasons as a rollercoaster, the Browns have been able to build a foundation by layering innovative processes year after year that have allowed them to build a competitive team. Berry and Stefanski are now entering their fourth full season together and sing from the same sheet of music. In addition, the team finally has a proven commodity at the quarterback position in Deshaun Watson, who has played at an elite level in the past and by all accounts seems to look as if he has returned to his old self.

Most importantly, the Haslams have spared no expense in delivering the resources to pursue a team capable of winning a Super Bowl. From updated facilities to top end free agents, the Haslams are eliminating all of the “same ole Browns” conversation that has existed in league circles for quite some time. In fact, the Browns will lead the league in one year cash spending for its roster in 2023.

Since his retirement after the 2017 season, Thomas has remained close to the organization and has a unique view of the stark contrasts between now and then and has to feel that the Browns are ready to take the next step on the field.

Maybe today was a bit of a consolation prize for enduring the losing seasons for the Haslams as well. Or maybe knowing that you played a part in another person’s development, evidenced by their ability to stand on that stage and deliver that speech in the flawless manner that Thomas did would lead to tears of pure joy.

Either way, for the Haslams, their ultimate redemption will be returning a winning football team to the city that we all love.

Joe Thomas says Peyton Manning once wanted him to force a trade to Denver

With Joe Thomas being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, there’s no better time for him to speak on some interesting testing things from his 10-year career.

On a recent episode of the Adam Schefter Podcast, the longtime Cleveland Browns left tackle opened up about the time that Peyton Manning tried to get him to force a trade to the Denver Broncos.

“Joe, I think you should go up to your GM’s office and make a stink,” Thomas repeated what Manning told him. “Literally, I want you to go up there and pull your pants down and make a stink on his desk.”

Manning and the Broncos were desperate at the time for a left tackle when Ryan Clady went down with a season-ending injury. The Hall of Fame quarterback knew there was very little chance the Browns would trade their All-Pro left tackle.

“They were looking for a replacement because obviously, they had a roster that went on to win the Super Bowl,” explained Thomas. “They were like, ‘Hey Peyton, you’re not exactly a spring chicken anymore, so we need someone that’s really solid that can block on your blind side’.”

Manning quickly called up his drinking buddy and wanted him in Denver to chase a Super Bowl, one that the Broncos did end up winning in 2016. Cleveland and Denver actually had conversations and Thomas revealed they had a fair package set up to make the trade happen.

“They kind of went back and forth with the Browns for a while. I think they found some reasonable trade compensation.”

Sashi Brown was the general manager at the time and he was reluctant to trade Thomas, for good reason.

“I think there was potentially a lot more downside of trading me since I was the longest-tenured member and had a fair amount of popularity within the Browns’ fanbase.”

At the end of the day, the trade obviously never happened and Thomas ended up playing 10,363 until his career came to a halt in 2017.

“I’m really happy to be able to play my entire career for the Cleveland Browns’ fans.”

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This story was originally published August 6, 2023 at 4:47 AM with the headline "According to Joe Thomas, success could be ‘right around the corner’ for the Cleveland Browns."