T

Joe Thomas

Class of 2023

Consecutive snaps played

10,363

NFL All-Decade Team

2010's

Pro Bowls

10

Seasons

11

Joe Thomas was selected by the Cleveland Browns as the third player overall in 2007 NFL Draft. An offensive tackle, Thomas anchored the O-line at Wisconsin, earning first-team All-Big Ten honors twice. He was a unanimous All-America Team member in 2006. 

Thomas’ rookie year set the stage for his 11-season career with the Browns. Not only was he named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team, Thomas earned the first of 10 consecutive Pro Bowl selections. He helped the team to a 10-6 record – the only winning record the franchise had during his tenure and the first for the team since it re-entered the League in 1999. The Browns finished the year ranked eighth in offense and fell only a game short of the playoffs. 

He finished second for AP Rookie of the Year and was the only player to receive votes outside of the award’s winner, Adrian Peterson. 

Thomas was consistent in all aspects of the game. He never missed a start – or an offensive snap – over the course of his career. He started in each of his career 167 games and amassed 10,363 consecutive snaps – widely believed to be an NFL record – before a career-ending triceps injury in Week 7 of the 2017 season ultimately led to his retirement in March 2018. 

Thomas is one of only five players in NFL history to earn a Pro Bowl selection in each of his first 10 seasons (2007-2016) – the others are Pro Football Hall of Famers MERLIN OLSEN, MEL RENFRO, BARRY SANDERS and LAWRENCE TAYLOR – and the only offensive lineman to achieve that feat. He was selected first-team All-Pro six times (2009-2011, 2013-15) and second-team All-Pro twice (2008, 2012). 

He was selected to the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 2010s, his 10,363 consecutive snaps were added to the Browns Ring of Honor at FirstEnergy Stadium in 2018 and he was inducted into the Cleveland Browns Legends program in 2022 for the indelible impact he left on the franchise. 

Year Team G
2007 Cleveland Browns 16
2008 Cleveland Browns 16
2009 Cleveland Browns 16
2010 Cleveland Browns 16
2011 Cleveland Browns 16
2012 Cleveland Browns 16
2013 Cleveland Browns 16
2014 Cleveland Browns 16
2015 Cleveland Browns 16
2016 Cleveland Browns 16
2017 Cleveland Browns 7
Career total   167

 

Full name: Joseph Hayden Thomas

Birthdate: Dec. 4, 1984

Birthplace: Brookfield, Wisconsin

High school: Brookfield Central (Brookfield, Wisconsin)

Elected to Pro Football Hall of Fame: Jan. 17, 2023

Other members of the Class of 2023: Rondé Barber, Don Coryell, Chuck Howley, Joe Klecko, Darrelle Revis, Ken Riley, Zach Thomas, DeMarcus Ware.

Pro career: 11 seasons, 167 games.

Drafted: First round (3rd overall) in 2007 by Cleveland Browns

Uniform number: 73

The Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2023 Enshrinement is Aug. 5.