Browns LT Joe Thomasย told reporters thatย he wants to see what happens in regards to the team’sย coaching situation before deciding if he’ll askย out of his contract.
โI was always wanting to be here and be part of the turnaround, but when thereโs changes in the front office, changes in the coaching staff, they may not want me,โ Thomasย said, via Nate Ulrich of Ohio.com. โThey [may] want to go younger. It may be a situation where I donโt want to be here. I donโt know. Thereโs too many unknowns to really say one way or the other.โ
Thomas was asked toย clarify if he was requesting a trade out of Cleveland to which he replied:ย โIโm not saying yes, Iโm not saying no, but thereโs a lot of unknowns and who knows whatโs going to happen next week.โ
Thomas explained that the older he gets, the harder it is to continue to be a part of a rebuild.
โThe older you get the harder the changes are. Theyโre the hardest on the older guys,โ Thomas said.ย โThatโs always been my desire is to turn this team into a winner. Thatโs certainly still my goal, but itโs impossible to say what the futureโs going to hold with a lot of potential changes looming.โ
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 hisย eight-year, $92 million contractย that includedย $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 16ย games for the Browns and is currently rated by Pro Football Focus as the No. 2ย offensive tackle out of 75 qualifying players.
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