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Joe Thomas joked about his former coaches Packers Elite Jerseys , thanked many of his ex-teammates and playfully referred to himself as a mushroom.
The 10-time Pro Bowl selection commanded the room – and kept his emotions in check – until the final moments of his retirement news conference Monday.
”It is with all of this that I must say goodbye,” Thomas said, his eyes welling with tears. ”Goodbye, not because I’m saying goodbye, but I’m just
changing jobs from being your left tackle to being the No. 1 fan of the
Cleveland Browns.
”Playing in front of the greatest fans in the NFL was easily the greatest honor of my 11-year career.”
Thomas, the No. 3 pick in the 2007 draft, formally bid farewell in an afternoon celebration at the Browns’ training facility. He was joined by his
wife Annie, their three children, longtime agent Peter Schaffer, and several
hundred invited guests.
The 6-foot-6, 310-pounder announced the end of his Hall of Fame-caliber run five days earlier, citing the physical toll of starting 167 straight games and
playing an NFL-record 10,363 consecutive offensive snaps to begin his
career.
Thomas’ ironman streak ended when he tore his left triceps in an Oct. 22 home game against Tennessee, but admitted that thoughts of retirement had entered his
mind before the season-ending injury.
”I was in tough shape physically and I was concerned that I wasn’t going to make it through the season Mike Montgomery Jersey ,” the three-time Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee said.
”I also was concerned that my performance was going to drop significantly because of what I had to do to get my (ailing) knee ready on Sunday. I wanted
people to remember the player that I was on the field.”
The Wisconsin native – and All-American tackle with his beloved Badgers – is one of the best players never to appear in a playoff game. He set the gold
standard as the lone offensive lineman in NFL history to be chosen for the Pro
Bowl in his first 10 seasons.
Hall of Famers Barry Sanders, Lawrence Taylor, Mel Renfro and Merlin Olson are the only other players to accomplish the feat. Browns owner Jimmy Haslam III
is confident that Thomas will join them in nearby Canton.
”Five years from now, all of us in this room will make the trek down to Canton to watch Joe as a first-ballot Hall of Famer, which he richly deserves as
one of the all-time greats of the league,” Haslam said.
”But first, we’re celebrating him today, and we’ll celebrate it again this year when the number 10,363 goes up in our ring of honor (at FirstEnergy
Stadium).”
Haslam, general manager John Dorsey and coach Hue Jackson presented Thomas with a fishing rod embroidered with his familiar No. 73. The city of Cleveland
will fete him on July 3 with ”Joe Thomas Day.”
Thomas’ local popularity began on his draft day, when he bypassed a trip to New York in favor of fishing with his father. While on Lake Michigan, he told
reporters that his objective was to become a Hall of Famer.
”I knew what I wanted to focus on from day one because I wanted to make sure my goals were as high as they wanted to be,” he said. ”I gave it my all and I
never sold myself short. Hopefully, in five years Ravens Elite Jerseys , I’ll be able to think about that a little more.”
Though he hopes to remain with the Browns in some capacity, Thomas plans on moving back to Wisconsin to spend more time with his parents and extended
family. His short-term plan is continuing to host a podcast with former
Cleveland wide receiver Andrew Hawkins, but he is eager to pursue potential
coaching and broadcasting jobs.
Jackson, who warmly embraced Thomas off stage, compared him to a fancy sports car and believes he will be successful in whatever field he chooses.
”I don’t know if I’m a Ferrari, maybe more of a beat-up truck like Mater on that show `Cars,”’ Thomas said. ”The main reason I retired was I knew that Hue
was going to make the rest of the team jump in the lake with him this year
(honoring his vow after a 0-16 season), and I didn’t want to do that.”
NOTE: The Browns sent defensive back C.J. Smith to Seattle for a 2020 conditional seventh-round pick.
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When the Alliance of American Football makes its first snap next February, there could be lots of familiar names playing for each of the eight teams.
Makes sense, too, because a brand new league needs as many hooks to attract fans as it can find. The Alliance is going with a geographic allocation system
that takes advantage of where players attended college, or where they performed
in the NFL.
For example, if former Alabama standout running back Trent Richardson opts to join the Alliance, he would be placed on Birmingham’s roster. Players who
attended Arizona or Arizona State would wind up with the Phoenix franchise.
Anyone who played for one of the major Florida schools would be placed with the
Orlando team.
”We think this will disperse the talent in a way that will be logical Cheap B.J. Hill Jersey ,” says Bill Polian, whose work as an NFL personnel man with Buffalo, Carolina and Indianapolis got him voted into the Pro
Football Hall of Fame. ”We borrowed that from the USFL.”
Polian, Alliance CEO Charlie Ebersol and the other league founders hope to be far more successful and have more longevity than that league, which lasted three
seasons in the 1980s before folding. Unquestionably, players to fill out the
75-man rosters – other franchises will be in San Diego, Memphis, Salt Lake City,
San Antonio and Atlanta – are available. Now, the Alliance has a system for
distributing them, particularly once NFL teams make their roster cuts at the
beginning of September.
Basically, players from any schools in the SEC, ACC and Pac-12 power conferences will wind up with a franchise in their region. Polian says because
the Alliance has no markets in Big Ten and Big 12 areas, ”we left them largely
unallocated.” Players from such schools as Penn State or Kansas State likely
will be apportioned based on which NFL club cut them. But the league plans to
distribute four NFL teams’ cuts to each of the Alliance squads.
”In addition Cheap Customized Los Angeles Chargers Jerseys , we gave each team a CFL team, again based on rough geography,” Polian says. ”The West CFL teams would go to the West
Alliance teams …
”When a player is cut or he is not in the NFL or CFL, the first thing is we look for a college affiliation. His rights are your property if he is affiliated
with one of your colleges. If his college is not assigned, we go to his pro
team. If the NFL team does not work, and he is in the CFL, we go to that.
Finally, if he is completely unallocated, he can be put on rights list
first-come, first-serve.”
Most smaller schools have not been allocated, nor have any from the lower levels of college ball.
Should a player draw interest from an NFL club after being cut in September and allocated to an Alliance team, he would be free to return to the NFL. But
not once the Alliance begins play the weekend after the Super Bowl.
”They can go at any time except from the start of our training camp to our championship game,” says Polian, whose league will play a 10-game
season http://www.buccaneersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-jordan-whitehead-jersey , with four teams making the playoffs. ”The reason we set our calendar the way we
did, our season ends just as OTAs are beginning (in the NFL). They won’t miss a
heck of a lot, if anything at all, and they will be in shape in late April. They
can go right back to the NFL and not miss a beat.”
Or they could head back to college. The Alliance will be offering players post-secondary education assistance, as well as health and wellness
benefits.
”In addition,” Polian explains ”every player completing a full (Alliance) season will receive a scholarship of a significant amount of money and we will
provide counseling if they want to go back to school.”
Each player will be signed to a three-year contract with a minimum base gross salary of $250,000 over three years. But they can earn more.
”With bonuses related to skill, statistical levels and even some fan engagement,” Polian says, ”they can earn considerably more than their base
minimum. We think it’s very competitive and a decent wage for basically a
10-game season.”
Now that the Alliance has established how it will distribute players and has scheduled scouting combines for August for players not in NFL camps, the next
big step comes Sept. 1: cutdown day in the NFL.
”The large push will come at the cut to 53 when a great many players will come on the market,” Polian says. ”Our big challenge will be getting the right
players.”
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