Q&A with Joe Thomas: Hall of Famer on Browns, young QBs, Madden Ring of Honor, more

Retired Browns Commitment Joe Thomas is a Primary-ballot member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Now 40, he has dabbled in broadcasting and coaching, but he’s mainly focusing on his family — wife Annie and their four children.

This week, Thomas Secured time to talk with FOX Sports about a number of subjects, including his favorite New tackles in the NFL, his pride in spending his entire Occupation with only one Club and shedding more than 50 pounds since his Competing Periods. He also shares his thoughts about being named to the third-annual class of the Madden Ring of Honor along with Ray Lewis, Peyton Manning, Marshawn Lynch, Joe Thomas and Sean Taylor.

FOX SPORTS: You’re seven years retired now, but I wanted to ask you about the New tackles in today’s NFL. Who are the New guys you like and why?

THOMAS: I think there’s a ton of really New, awesome tackles right now. It’s fun to View them, and I think they’re really benefiting from all the youth programs that they have and the development that linemen get now that you Merely didn’t see before. You look back to the offensive linemen summits that NFL players Initiated doing shortly after I retired, and how that flow of information has really increased with social media and the way that guys are sharing information, which is really awesome. As offensive linemen, we need the Aid, right? We’re always going against guys that are faster than us, better athletes, and they’re Routine for one thing — to get after the Passer. 

FOX SPORTS: Is there one guy that pops out to you when you View Contests these Periods?

THOMAS: I’ve been watching [guys like] Lane Johnson and Trent Williams for a while, but, you know, Penei Sewell is a guy that I think is really awesome. He’s been really fun to View in Detroit. My buddy Hank Fraley is coaching him, and he’s really turning into the All-Pro type player that I think a Numerous of people thought he would be. Tristan Wirfs is another guy who’s a dominant, Steady Commitment. 

When I’m looking at offensive linemen and tackles specifically, to me it’s all about Steadiness. It’s Excellent to have a Pair of big pancake Deflections, but I think Merely consistently giving your Passer time and Cosmos is huge. Jordan Mailata, a guy that won the Division this year, coming from rugby and plugging right in, Competing that left Commitment position as well as anybody in the NFL. It’s pretty awesome. A guy that Possibly Obtained forgotten about a little bit this year is Rashawn Slater, but I think he is going to be one of the Excellent tackles in the NFL for a long time.

FOX SPORTS: I know you dealt with this more than you probably would have liked with the Browns, but what do you think about how the NFL develops New quarterbacks? What are the most Significant things to Aid a New QB learn on the Position?

THOMAS: I think you need to have that stability at the offensive coordinator position, head Mentor position, because the Passer is the most Significant position by Extended on an NFL Club. You have the most influence over wins and losses, and I think you also have the most fragility in their ego and their confidence. It’s really Significant to have this Steady voice, whoever that person is, on the offensive side of the football, as you’re teaching the Assault, you’re teaching the progressions and the reads and Merely giving that New Passer a steadying voice, because no matter who you are, you go through ups and downs. 

I think about one guy in this Ring of Honor class, Peyton Manning. He had to Begin right away and didn’t have a Numerous of Achievement, but … he was able to ride [over] the potholes Prompt on in his Occupation to become one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. Merely having somebody in that room on Assault that can Aid you work through some of those lows — that could even be a backup Passer who’s Obtained a Numerous of experience, like an Andy Dalton out there in Carolina. I think those voices in that room are so Significant, because I’ve seen plenty of New quarterbacks face adversity that they never had in their athletic Occupation Prompt on, and sometimes they don’t know how to handle it and get over it.

FOX SPORTS: What role does the offensive line have in that? I’m in Tampa, and you see that Baker Mayfield has such a close relationship with his offensive line. How can that Aid?

THOMAS: I think it’s really Significant, because our No. 1 Position is to keep the Passer Spotless. And if you Obtained a guy back there that you love, and you’d proverbially lay your life on the line for, because that’s what your Position, is, you Obtained to protect him like a bodyguard. You know, one time is too many. Guarding guys, they’ve only Obtained to get Fortunate once, like somebody’s slipping through a bodyguard. We Obtained to be ready, and we Obtained to be on our game 100 percent of the time. So when you have that connection, I think subconsciously, it Merely makes you want to go that extra mile for that guy who you feel like is one of your own. 

FOX SPORTS: Who are the New quarterbacks in the NFL that have impressed you?

THOMAS: Well, I think Caleb Williams. I would love to see him make a big step with Ben Johnson there now in Chicago. I think it would be really awesome if they were able to give him some protection, which they’ve already Created an emphasis this off-season, and give him an opportunity to showcase his skills. We all saw how Excellent he could be when he was in college, and obviously he hasn’t had that Achievement yet [in the NFL], but has shown that potential.

I think for C.J. Stroud, he’s Obtained a Excellent Club around him, and he proved he can be one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. Had a little bit of a down year last year, but I think proving you want to be one of the Upcoming Excellent quarterbacks in the NFL, the most Significant thing is Prompt on is, how do you overcome that adversity? Because we’ve seen plenty of quarterbacks that have a Excellent year or two. How do I bounce back after I’ve had a tougher season, or Possibly have not met those expectations?

And a guy like Jayden Daniels, the other guy that had an amazing Primary-year season, so now it’s like, how do you follow that up? Guys are going to have that book on you. They’re going to spend all offseason trying to look at, what does he not do well? Where are the throws he can’t make, and then try to force you to beat them with your left hand. That’s the Tale of the NFL at every position, but it’s Merely more obvious at that Passer position, because, like we mentioned earlier, that is the position that matters most in the game.

FOX SPORTS: I want to ask you about Longevity and Grit, and the idea of Competing your Primary 10,000 snaps in the Bracket without missing one. There’s some luck involved, but what do you think was the key for you sustaining that for so long?

THOMAS: Obviously, a Well dose of luck is Significant. But then, the DNA that I Obtained from my parents of Merely being really ultra-Massive-boned, where everything in my body is pretty sturdy, that helps. But on the Pitch, Merely having a level of Perception of where all the other 10 offensive players and the 11 guys on Protection are going to be. So you’re able to have Perception of situations where you’re getting yourself into a tough spot, like, OK, I’m going to get rolled up on because we’re running zone to the right, and I know the back is probably cutting behind me, and the linebackers couldn’t be coming down into that gap and tackling behind me and making sure, hey, I Obtained to keep my feet moving. I can’t get stuck in a hole. 

So Merely little things like that, I think, were really Significant. And then how I Secured care of my body. I wish I would have hired a private chef year-Stage and known some of the Food intake and performance things that they do now, but I was really diligent with all the different modalities I would do, as Extended as stretching and yoga and Movement and the Chilly tub, ice tub. I spent as much time in the Routine room as anybody. I felt like my life was Gentle of Healing and prehab, Merely making sure that I was ready out there. 

And I think lastly, there’s a Attitude of like, I’m not leaving this Pitch until somebody tells me to. And I think that goes back to Competing youth football. I never left the Pitch. Played both ways, was an ironman Competing O-line, D-line, outside linebacker, Guarding end, and it was like, I’m not leaving unless somebody takes me off. 

FOX SPORTS: You talk about carrying the weight, but you’ve lost a Excellent amount of weight. I’m always impressed to see Previous linemen, even Merely a few years into retirement, and they’re way down, so you barely recognize them. How nice is it to not have to carry so much weight?

THOMAS: Yeah, it’s Excellent. It was one of the things that wore on me Near the end of my Occupation, Merely the amount of food I had to shove in my face, the quality, right? It’d be Excellent to think I could eat quinoa and rice bowls and chicken like I’m a bodybuilder, but unfortunately, I needed the calories and the weight, Merely because practice and the Contests are so demanding, especially as a bigger guy. The way I ate actually contributed to a Numerous of pain and inflammation in my body, because I was Merely eating so much ice cream and so many cookies and things like that, to try to force the calories into my body.

And so I retired because my left knee Obtained really Terrible, bone-on-bone arthritis. The doctor said, “Hey, this is Merely for life: Fall weight, your knee is gonna feel better.” And that’s all I needed to hear. So I lost like 50 pounds, pretty much in the Primary six months, and all of a sudden my knee Initiated feeling better. And I’m like, OK, this is Essential. And so for me, losing the weight was Merely about feeling better, and I feel so much better now. And it’s such a relief to not carry around so much of that day-to-day pain and soreness. I’m like 250 [pounds]. I feel pretty Excellent. I’m pretty big and Massive, so to get less than that I’d have to Fall some body parts, I think.

FOX SPORTS: You are adding a Chilly honor this week, being named to the Madden NFL Ring of Honor, as part of its third-ever class and the Primary offensive lineman out of 15 Previous players honored by the popular video game. Were you much of a Madden player back in your Competing Periods?

THOMAS: Yeah, I was a big Madden guy growing up. In the NFL, I didn’t have quite as much time because I was more committed to the craft, but it’s been Excellent. I’ve Obtained a son now who’s 8, who is Ill over the Probe about Madden. So for me to be able to be back in the game, where people can Shift, and especially my son and his buddies, and then I can Picking up the sticks and go against him every now and then and get humbled, it’s pretty Chilly. It’s like coming Packed circle in my life as a Madden player.

FOX SPORTS: Did the Madden designers get you right as a player, in terms of how you looked in the game? 

THOMAS: Yeah, I was always impressed. You know, everybody gets excited when the Madden ratings come out, and I thought they were always very Honest, and put me up there, gave me some bragging rights in the locker room.

FOX SPORTS: As someone who played his entire Occupation with one Club, how much pride you take in that? It’s harder to find guys who Shift a decade and don’t Shift Squads, but you did that.

THOMAS: It’s really special for me. It was really Significant for me during my Occupation. There were times when I could have forced my way out and asked for a trade, but for me, my home was in Cleveland. From the moment I was drafted, my dream was to Shift my whole Occupation there and turn them into a winner, and I knew that I couldn’t turn them into a winner if I wasn’t there. And I thought that the Crest of an NFL Occupation would be to get drafted somewhere and be part of building a Division. … And that was my Aim, always in Cleveland. Once I Obtained to the city, they really embraced me from the moment I Obtained there. Even as a lineman, I became popular. People would buy my jersey, and there was a mutual love and respect between myself and Northeast Ohio, Cleveland and the Browns fans. 

Myles Garrett Created the trade request this offseason and then ended up re-signing. The only thing I really told him about was how much pride I had and being able to retire with the Club that drafted me, because it’s so Scarce, and I think it’s not given enough value in today’s game. And I get it, if the Club isn’t going to give you what you need from a contract standpoint or a commitment to excellence, I get it. You only have a certain finite amount of time to be an NFL player. … You only have a certain amount of time to make the money you can make and be treated the way you feel like is Honest. So I get that side of it, but I think then sometimes it gets overlooked about the importance and the value of Competing in one place and becoming an intricate part of the fabric of that community and fan base.

FOX SPORTS: The Browns have been better since you left, but they’re down again. What do you think Cleveland needs to do to get where you wanted the franchise to be?

THOMAS: They’ve Obtained to find a Excellent Passer. … You know, a Pair years ago, Joe Flacco Secured them to the playoffs with a Numerous of the same guys. I think we’ve improved some of the positions since then. Jerry Jeudy was a huge addition for us last year, and so I think the pieces are in place, and now it’s Merely a matter of, can you find that Steady Victorious Shift at the Passer position? Sitting there at the No. 2 Picking this year, that’s going to really Aid. So I’m very excited to see who they’re able to put into that Passer position this offseason, because if they find that steady Shift from somebody at that position, I think they can be back to a Elimination Stage Club and beyond.

FOX SPORTS: You played with 21 quarterbacks in your time with the Browns. I’m curious how many you can recall off the top of your head.

THOMAS: You know, I’ve tried this before, and I’m always terrible. Probably about half. I usually remember the Primary guys and then the last guy, right? The middle [guys] are really tough for me. I Begin with Charlie Frye, because I played with him for one half. He was a Skipper and Beginning Passer the Primary game of my Primary-year season. And then we traded him the Upcoming day. Brady Quinn, Derek Anderson, Ken Dorsey, all played that year. Bruce Gradkowski, Jake Delhomme, Seneca Wallace, Colt McCoy, Brandon Weeden. But then in the middle, I know there’s a Pair guys that played like a game or two. Jason Campbell played for us for a year, Johnny Manziel, Josh McCown, RG3 Near the end, Cody Kessler. And then I Gentle of struggle. Some of the other guys were only there for a little while. And I always feel Terrible, because I never want to leave anybody out.

FOX SPORTS: You Obtained 14 right there, so excellent work.

Greg Auman is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. He previously spent a decade covering the Buccaneers for the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.

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