Browns great Joe Thomas names consecutive snap streak his proudest moment

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - Joe Thomas, on the cusp of being elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, admitted Wednesday that his streak of 10,363 consecutive snaps is his proudest achievement.

Thomas is one of 15 semifinalists but is widely expected to be an easy choice for election to the Hall on Feb. 9.

He spoke to media before hosting the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.

He told reporters he tried to not think about it for as long as possible.

“I didn’t think a whole lot about it until the semi-finalists list came out and now the finalists list come out. Then you start having people from the Hall of Fame reaching out and the Browns reaching out like, ‘Hey if you get in, these are possible things we are going to do,’” said Thomas. “It becomes real when you do that.”

Thomas said if or when the “Hall Call” comes, as it’s called, it will be time to celebrate.

He wants that to somehow involve Cleveland.

“The preliminary ideas are being floated out there of definitely doing something that can celebrate the whole city,” he said.

The 2007 first round draft pick made 10 Pro Bowls and was first team All Pro six times, but said he is probably most proud of playing every snap of his career.

“That’s something that has never been done in the NFL before,” he said. “To me it is a reflection of what my teammates meant to me and how important it was for me to be there to help them.”

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