Cleveland Browns left tackle Joe Thomas recently revealed he’s struggling with memory loss as he enters his 11th NFL season. While it surprised many he’s still pursuing his NFL dream in light of that revelation, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that he’s going to mull over his options following the 2017 campaign.
“It’s hard to say [how much longer I’ll play],” Thomas said, per ESPN’s Tony Grossi. “I’m lucky enough to be standing here after completing 10 years in my career, which was longer than I expected to play when I was a rookie.
“I’ll re-evaluate things after the season. To me, the questions become do I still love it, am I still good enough to have a spot, and am I still healthy enough. Those are always the things I ask myself and if those are all yes I’ll keep playing, and if for some reason they’re no, then I’ll stop playing.”
Given his love for the game, the key words to note are “still healthy enough.”
A recent study found that 110 out of 111 deceased former NFL players all had CTE (chronic traumatic encophalopathy). Since that time, Baltimore Ravens offensive lineman John Urschel has retired from the game and Ben Roethlisberger indicated the study would absolutely impact his decision about whether he returns for another season in 2018 (more on that here).
Thomas is one of the NFL’s modern marvels. He’s played and started in each of his first 160 NFL games since being selected No. 3 overall back in 2007. In his 10 seasons, he’s been voted to the Pro Bowl every single year, earning seven First-team All-Pro and two Second-team All-Pro nods.
All those accolades won’t mean much if he cannot enjoy them in his latter years, though.
The Browns have never made the playoffs since Thomas joined the franchise. It’s not likely that streak will continue in 2017, either. He’s been one of the most dependable, and best, players at any position in the league. With that, the team’s lack of success must be all the more frustrating, though Thomas has used humor as a salve over this wound.
Whenever he does decide to retire, Thomas will be missed.