Hall of Fame Quarterback Wanted Joe Thomas to Force his way out of Cleveland

Joe Thomas played his entire tenure with the Cleveland Browns but it almost didn’t go that way.

Brandon Little | Aug 3, 2023

Hall of Fame Quarterback Wanted Joe Thomas to Force his way out of Cleveland /

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With Joe Thomas being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this weekend, there’s no better time for him to speak on some interesting testing things from his 10-year career.

On a recent episode of the Adam Schefter Podcast, the longtime Cleveland Browns left tackle opened up about the time that Peyton Manning tried to get him to force a trade to the Denver Broncos.

“Joe, I think you should go up to your GM’s office and make a stink,” Thomas repeated what Manning told him. “Literally, I want you to go up there and pull your pants down and make a stink on his desk.”

Manning and the Broncos were desperate at the time for a left tackle when Ryan Clady went down with a season-ending injury. The Hall of Fame quarterback knew there was very little chance the Browns would trade their All-Pro left tackle.

“They were looking for a replacement because obviously, they had a roster that went on to win the Super Bowl,” explained Thomas. “They were like, ‘Hey Peyton, you’re not exactly a spring chicken anymore, so we need someone that’s really solid that can block on your blind side’.”

Manning quickly called up his drinking buddy and wanted him in Denver to chase a Super Bowl, one that the Broncos did end up winning in 2016. Cleveland and Denver actually had conversations and Thomas revealed they had a fair package set up to make the trade happen.

“They kind of went back and forth with the Browns for a while. I think they found some reasonable trade compensation.”

Sashi Brown was the general manager at the time and he was reluctant to trade Thomas, for good reason.

“I think there was potentially a lot more downside of trading me since I was the longest-tenured member and had a fair amount of popularity within the Browns’ fanbase.”

At the end of the day, the trade obviously never happened and Thomas ended up playing 10,363 until his career came to a halt in 2017.

“I’m really happy to be able to play my entire career for the Cleveland Browns’ fans.”

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