BEREA: Browns coach Hue Jackson doesn’t just like nine-time Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Thomas. He has a full-fledged man crush on him.
Jackson admires and respects Thomas so much that the coach boldly promised Wednesday the franchise won’t trade the lineman in the offseason when his name will inevitably surface in trade rumors as April’s draft approaches.
“That is not happening, OK? — or I am going with him,” Jackson said. “OK? I guarantee you that. I am going with him.”
Thomas later quipped, “That’s nice of him. Where we going, the Bahamas? I’m in.”
In all seriousness, Jackson said the organization didn’t talk about dealing Thomas before the NFL’s trade deadline on Nov. 1. But if it had, Jackson would have put his foot down.
“I would have done that. There is no question,” Jackson said. “Joe Thomas means a lot to me personally and a lot to this organization and this team and this city. He has done too much, and we need to keep him here.”
Jackson’s comments were spurred by the Browns naming Thomas their 2016 Walter Payton Man of the Year. The award named after the late Chicago Bears running back is presented to one player from each of the NFL’s 32 teams to honor community service and playing excellence.
“It means a lot to me because giving back to my community has been really important to me,” Thomas said.
Of the nominees, three finalists will be chosen. Then the 2016 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award will be announced Feb. 4 during NFL Honors, a ceremony scheduled to be televised nationally on Fox the night before Super Bowl LI.
Thomas has been previously nominated for the award twice (2010 and 2012), and he became a finalist the second time. He’s heavily involved in several charities supporting children, education and military members as well as their families.
“Joe is a tremendous asset to this organization in so many different ways,” Jackson said. “You are talking about a guy that has never missed a down, never missed a game, finds a way to be out there when I know maybe there are times he should not be. But it is that important to him to be out there with his teammates. For him to be recognized like this, it is a tremendous accomplishment.
“I can’t say enough about my opportunity to be around him this year. If there is a silver lining in this, it is the time and conversations that I have had with him because he has taught me a lot and taught me a lot about what being a pro truly is, coming in here every day and just finding a way to get it done and then walking out on Sunday and competing the way he does.”
Jackson called his rapport with Thomas “a silver lining” because it’s difficult to find bright spots as the 0-12 Browns prepare to host the Cincinnati Bengals (4-7-1) on Sunday.
Thomas said this season has been the most mentally draining of his career because the Browns are winless. They’re 47-169 since drafting him third overall in 2007. He has been part of just one winning season, when they went 10-6 during his rookie year. He hasn’t been in the playoffs.
Yet Thomas has repeatedly said over the years he wants to remain with the Browns and be part of a turnaround.
“It is very rare,” quarterback Josh McCown said of Thomas’ attitude. “It is an honor to be his teammate, to get to play with someone like that and you fight for that. Obviously, understanding that he has been here for a long time — only one winning season. But to want to be here and get it right is special.”
It’s also a source of motivation for Jackson.
“I want us to do right by him. Right by that is let’s go get this man some wins,” Jackson said. “He deserves that. He deserves to be on a winning football team and have a chance to chase playoffs and championships. That is why you are here.”
Thomas has excelled on an individual basis despite all of the losing. The future member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame has started all 156 career games, tied for the longest active streak among NFL offensive linemen, and played every possible offensive snap of his career (9,684 consecutive), the longest active stretch in the league.
He’s pushed through several injuries along the way, including a knee issue this season that’s kept him from practicing since October.
“Not everybody’s always going to feel great on Sunday,” said Thomas, who added he was inspired by legendary quarterback Brett Favre’s consecutive game streak while growing up in Wisconsin. “But it’s your job to go out there if you can help the team better than the person that could be replacing you. I hope that’s something that I leave with the youngsters that we have here.”
Thomas takes great pride in coaching younger players, and starting right tackle Austin Pasztor said he has benefited a great deal from the tutoring.
“When I’m telling my kids about my playing days, it’ll be something like, ‘Hey, you know, this is one of the best ever. I learned a lot from him,’ ” Pasztor said. “I take a lot of that when I do my own football camps back home. It’s like, ‘This is straight from the best ever. This is how you play tackle. This is how you play O-line.’ ”
Teammates and coaches will reflect on the legacy of Thomas, 32, even more after he retires, but he doesn’t view that occasion as imminent.
“I want to play as long as the Browns want me, as long as I’m healthy enough to play and as long as I still love it,” Thomas said. “I know as of right now all those things are still there and I still love this game even more than I did when I was a rookie. Hopefully, the Browns still want me. I think that’s going to be kind of the checklist whenever the time comes, but right now, I don’t see anything changing.”
Jackson would be heartbroken otherwise.
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Browns blog at www.ohio.com/browns. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NateUlrichABJ and on Facebook www.facebook.com/abj.sports.