One team, 10 years, yet former Cleveland Browns offensive tackle Joe Thomas could not win a Super Bowl. Does he regret not lifting the Lombardi? Definitely. But not enough for him to leave the Browns and seek opportunities outside of Cleveland.

“Did you ever entertain asking for a trade?” Dan Patrick asked Thomas on his show.

“I never did,” Thomas shared. “I was always happy in Cleveland. I always felt a great pride in building something special. I loved the franchise. And I wanted to do it there. To me, it wouldn’t have been worth doing if it wasn’t building something great in Cleveland and giving the fans that Super Bowl title.

“And so, even after I’d broken down in year 10 and realized, we ain’t doing it. We’re not good enough. I’m fooling myself. We can’t do it here anymore. I think at that point, my career was already almost over. I only played one more season after that. And I felt that, okay, I’m not going to win a championship here, but what can I still do here to leave a mark and leave a legacy and be part of building something?”

Joe Thomas, by all means, was one of the few bright spots of Cleveland Browns teams that never failed to match his talent. His rookie season in 2007 was the only time the Browns had a winning season in his career. The highest finish in Thomas’ 10-year stint was 7-9 in 2014. Thomas’ overall record stands at 48-119 in games he played for the Browns, far from the true picture of the athlete he truly was.

When the franchise began rebuilding in 2016, Thomas later described that period as the moment when everything fell apart for him.

“Going into year 10, we had traded away the first overall pick. We were trading guys away, saving capital for the future. The writing was on the wall that we were in a pretty significant rebuild, he shared. “I kind of knew at that time, even though I was still trying to trick myself, in the back of your head you know you’re not going to be any good.”

Cleveland hosted Tom Brady in his return from the Deflategate suspension that season, but the matchup ended in a one-sided 33-13 loss for the Browns. It broke something in Joe Thomas.

“I had ice on both elbows and knees. I was in pain, my wife was driving, and I was just looking out the window,” he said on Bussin’ With The Boys. “It was that moment when I realised I’d been kind of fooling myself for a while, and we were not going to win no matter what I did,” Thomas opened up about his mental struggle. “

The veteran offensive lineman, however, had a shot at a better career. Ahead of the 2015 trade deadline, he came under the Denver Broncos’ radar, who were interested in acquiring Thomas. They were so serious about making that happen that even Peyton Manning jumped into action to woo Thomas.

“It was the year the Broncos won the Super Bowl. Peyton was getting older and was needing protection on the left side,” Thomas shared on Bussin’ With The Boys. “I’m watching Sunday Night Football just laying in bed after a game with the wife, and I get a call from an unknown number, but it was Denver. I don’t usually answer my phone after a game, but I was like, ‘this is weird,’ so I answered it – it’s Peyton. ‘Hey buddy, this is your drinking buddy from the Pro Bowl.’ He was like, ‘Well, hey, listen, we lost our left tackle, and I really want you to block for me, but the Browns are worried because you’re kind of their franchise. They love you over there.

“We have a fair deal on the table, but [John] Elway’s telling me it’s not going to get done unless you go up to your GM’s office and tell him you want to be traded. And I was like, that’s a pretty difficult thing to turn down, but it’s hard to imagine. I am happy in Cleveland. I love it here. If a deal gets done on its own merit, great; if not, I’m not willing to try and force a trade.”

After turning down that offer, Thomas was there for two more seasons in Cleveland and retired happily in March, 2018, being loyal to the Browns throughout.

The post “I’d Broken Down”: Browns Legend Joe Thomas Explains Why He Refused to Leave Cleveland Despite Super Bowl Drought appeared first on EssentiallySports. Add EssentiallySports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.