https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/10/29/joe-thomas-cleveland-browns-injury-streak-mmqb

great article. thanks

Sounds like he really is leaning towards hanging them up.

Wouldn’t you?

Choice one, rejoin a perennial loser.
Choice two, walk off into the sunset as a sure 1st ballot hall of famer with time to spend with your children.

What a bummer.

Exactly my thought as I read it.

Said it from the moment it occurred.
He's done. He's got alot to live for and he's smart enough to make the decision that will allow him to pursue his outside interests. Next fall he'll be in the woods and not on the gridiron. In what 2022 we'll have another Browns bust in Canton.

he certainly sounded at least 50% sure he's done

Let your body heal Joe. Nothing to play for here, you've already done more than any two players combined here over the years you've been the best LT in the league.

Depressing, but just retire and enjoy your beautiful family. No garbage dump is worth it.

You have earned this break, JT. Make moves now to lock him up as a coach if not a player.
Or, take the HOF ticket and go fishing. I would love to see him continuing work in Cleveland.

Sadly, I think he might have to come back for quite a few more years before he could get to do that.

j/c...

Out of just guessing I didn't read retirement into that article at all. Just Joe being real giving his account of watching as a fan. Describing his injury play by play and the days after.
Right now just having surgery this is the worst. He will start to rehab after the cutting and sewing heals. Actually from the sound of it he was on the last threads of the tendon for quite a while.

I got a feeling after he rehabs hard he will be in the best feeling that he has had in a long time as a lot of little tears heal finally due to inactivity.

He's probably going to honor the last year of his contract...after that its going to be a total guess what happens. Will he be better for it and feel he has a couple more seasons in him? We will ask him to retire?

All I know is that I was pleasantly pleased with Drango's game yesterday against supposedly a tough cookie.

Was it a fluke...can we expect growth?

All I know is Joe Thomas will always be a Brown! I hope he sees Wins in the future and not with another team...with US!!!

I agree 100% with this... And I don't think we ask him to retire. I think he comes back next year and plays one final season. He knows he's done and I don't think he would continue to play if knows he can't at a high level.

He sounds really conflicted to me, as would be expected.

I agree, I think he sounds conflicted more than anything.

One thing I will add, though... is that I don't think winning/losing will affect his decision. Simply, it hasn't affected his decision to stay up until now, so I'm not sure why it would affect it now. He seems to be more and more aware of the punishment his body has taken over the years.

Two things about the article were really interesting. I think he's a little shocked the team has moved on without him. I don't believe he thinks this in a selfish way, but the line where he basically said he doesn't know how to IR, because he's never had to before, really hit me. Man, that's crazy. The part where he praised Drango was interesting as well. Maybe it's just his sense of humor, but he seemed very relieved that (for the ifrst game, anyway) the LT position was alright with him not there.

I like how Joe took a shot at the players kneeling for the national anthem.

Otherwise, I think he hangs them up.

I wish the Browns could have done better by him.

As I've heard many players state, never make this decision when you are emotional, whether it's after an injury or after a championship... unless you made it BEFORE the championship.

I hope he comes back for a couple more years.