Joe Thomas

Joseph Hayden Thomas (born December 4, 1984) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle for 11 seasons with the Cleveland Browns in the National Football League (NFL).

He played college football at Wisconsin, earned unanimous All-American honors, and was recognized as the top college interior lineman.

He was recognized as the WFCA 2002 Defensive Player of the Year.

He had 85 tackles and 12 sacks as a senior.

As a junior, he had 70 tackles and eight sacks.

He was listed as the third best prospect in the state of Wisconsin in 2003.

Aside from his athletic prowess, Thomas performed well academically.

He was a four-year honor roll student and a part of the U.S. Army Academic All-America team and played in the 2003 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

Regarded as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Thomas was ranked as the No. 18 offensive tackle prospect in the class of 2003.

Wisconsin, Nebraska, Colorado, and Notre Dame vied for his recruitment before he signed his letter of intent to Wisconsin in January 2003.

In track and field, Thomas set the school record for shot put and discus with throws of 64 ft and 185 ft. He lettered four times in track and field.

He also holds the school indoor record in the shot put (62 ft).

Thomas enrolled in the University of Wisconsin, where he played for the Wisconsin Badgers football team from 2003 to 2006.

As a true freshman, he mostly saw action as a blocking tight end in the 2003 season.

In 2004, he started all 12 games at left tackle, helping the Badgers' ground game with Anthony Davis and Matt Bernstein in the backfield.

In 2005, Barry Alvarez's final season as the Badgers' head coach, he started all 13 games at left tackle and was named a first-team All-American by Pro Football Weekly.

He blocked for Brian Calhoun, who had an impressive year, racking up 1,500 rushing yards and 500 receiving yards.

He was a 2005 second-team All-Big Ten Conference selection, as he qualified for the 2004 and 2005 NCAA Regionals in the shot put and discus throw.

He majored in business administration while at the University of Wisconsin.

This is where he met his future wife, Annie Nelson of Hudson, Wisconsin.

Thomas considered declaring for the 2006 NFL draft, where he was projected among the top 15 picks (and projected as the second offensive lineman behind Virginia prospect D'Brickashaw Ferguson).

The Badgers were invited to the Capital One Bowl against Auburn, where they prevailed 24–10.

Unfortunately, Thomas tore his ACL playing defensive end because of injuries to other players at the position.

The Badgers finished that season 10–3 with a #15 national ranking.

Soon after the game, Thomas announced that he would be returning to Wisconsin for his final year.

His senior season in 2006 began with high expectations.

As the offensive captain, he started all 13 games and blocked for P. J. Hill, Jr., who recorded over 1,500 rushing yards.

Following the regular season, Thomas won the Outland Trophy as the nation's top interior lineman, and he was recognized as a unanimous first-team All-American.

Thomas and the Badgers were again invited to the Capital One Bowl, this time against Arkansas.

The Badgers prevailed over the Razorbacks by a score of 17–14 and finished the season 12–1.

He also excelled at shot put for the Badgers' track and field team.

He garnered national recognition for record-breaking performances in shot put and discus throw.

The Browns chose Thomas with the third overall pick in the 2007 NFL draft.

He was invited to the Pro Bowl in each of his first 10 seasons and did not miss a single play in his career until the 2017 season (his final season in the NFL); his 10,363 consecutive snaps played is the longest streak since the NFL began recording snap counts in 1999.

He is regarded as one of the best offensive linemen of all time.

In 2023, Thomas was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, becoming the first Cleveland Brown inductee since their reactivation in 1999.

Thomas was born in Brookfield, Wisconsin.

His parents are Eric and Sally Thomas.

He attended Brookfield Central High School, and played right tackle, defensive end, tight end, fullback, placekicker, and punter for the Brookfield Central Lancers high school football team.

He was listed among the top 20 offensive tackles nationally, PrepStar All-American, second-team All-America offensive guard according to USA Today, member of the Detroit Free Press All-Midwest team, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel first-team all-state defensive lineman and second-team all-state offensive guard as a junior, and also received first-team all-state honors at defensive end from the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association (WFCA) and Associated Press.