Browns LT Joe Thomas Indicates He Could Ask For Trade, Depending On Coaching Hire

Browns LT Joe Thomas told reporters that he wants to see what happens in regards to the team’s coaching situation before deciding if he’ll ask out of his contract.

“I was always wanting to be here and be part of the turnaround, but when there’s changes in the front office, changes in the coaching staff, they may not want me,” Thomas said, via Nate Ulrich of Ohio.com. “They [may] want to go younger. It may be a situation where I don’t want to be here. I don’t know. There’s too many unknowns to really say one way or the other.”

Thomas was asked to clarify if he was requesting a trade out of Cleveland to which he replied: “I’m not saying yes, I’m not saying no, but there’s a lot of unknowns and who knows what’s going to happen next week.”

Thomas explained that the older he gets, the harder it is to continue to be a part of a rebuild.

“The older you get the harder the changes are. They’re the hardest on the older guys,” Thomas said. “That’s always been my desire is to turn this team into a winner. That’s certainly still my goal, but it’s impossible to say what the future’s going to hold with a lot of potential changes looming.”

Thomas was the most notable name available ahead of this year’s trade deadline, and a deal was reportedly discussed with the Broncos. However, compensation was unable to be agreed upon.

Thomas, 30, has been a Hall-of-Fame caliber offensive tackle since the Browns drafted him. He still has another four years remaining on his eight-year, $92 million contract that included $44 million guaranteed.

Thomas stands to make base salaries of $8.8 million (2015), $8.3 million (2016), and $8.8 million (2017-2018).

This season, Thomas has appeared in all 16 games for the Browns and is currently rated by Pro Football Focus as the No. 2 offensive tackle out of 75 qualifying players.