Cleveland Browns legend Joe Thomas rode off into the sunset Monday afternoon through the night, and it will make football fans everywhere a bit misty-eyed.
Thomas held a retirement ceremony where he gave an outstanding speech, and followed that up with an emotional embrace with LeBron James at the Cleveland Cavaliers game.
#Browns Joe Thomas thanks the fans and gets emotional at the end pic.twitter.com/jx3UiSRAQT
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) March 19, 2018
Oh, @joethomas73 got jokes #ThankYou73 pic.twitter.com/54TLdwm2zM
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) March 19, 2018
CLEVELAND LEGENDS. @KingJames showing some love to @joethomas73. #ThankYou73 pic.twitter.com/EExdYPs8Ju
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) March 19, 2018
Joe Thomas is the last of a dying breed, and the NFL is much worse off without him. He represents everything we love about football. He’s a Wisconsin kid with a Midwest work ethic. He never felt the need to be flashy. He busted his behind for a team that never deserved him. He was the face of a franchise most owners couldn’t dream of getting, and he did things the right way.
I’ve always been a massive fan of Thomas. A large part of my support has to do with the fact that we’re both sons of Wisconsin, and I watched him play for my Badgers so long ago. I don’t know why, but it just feels right that he went to a city like Cleveland. He represents everything we love about hard work and grit. It doesn’t get much more hard-working than Cleveland.
His journey on the field is over, and his next stop is the Hall of Fame. I’d love to see him take a little time off, and then return to coach somewhere. I have no doubt that he’d be incredible on the sidelines.
In the meantime, he can keep crushing his “Thomahawk” podcast. He’s done taking snaps, but I have a feeling we’re still going to be seeing a lot of Joe Thomas.