Offensive lineman Joe Thomas has spent his entire career with the Cleveland Browns, but that may well change within a year or so.
The 33-year-old Thomas is entering the final season of his contract with the Browns, and he made it pretty clear in a speech on Jan. 17 at the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards that the team should probably start planning to acquire his successor.
“Some positions that are a little more difficult to patch in free agency,” Thomas said, via Jeff Schudel of the News-Herald. “A lot of times quarterbacks, left tackles and cornerbacks don’t hit the market.
“No matter what I decide to do, this is the last year of my contract in Cleveland. I’m also 33 right now. They need to be planning for somebody else pretty soon down the line whether it’s this year or next year.”
It certainly sounds like Thomas’s medium-term plans don’t involve the Browns. He’s even floated retirement as a possibility, which may be more realistic than playing for another team.
