According to Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Browns had an opportunity to trade Pro Bowl LT Joe Thomas to NFC East or NFC West team last year.
However, Thomas is reportedly viewed as “virtually untouchable” by the Browns, which explains why there wasn’t any buzz regarding the idea before this.
Cabot mentions that “it would take a ton” to get the Browns part ways with Thomas, as he’s scheduled to make reasonable base salary of around $8.8 million per year over the remainder of his contract.
In the event that some team offered the Browns a deal they just couldn’t refuse for Thomas, Cabot could see left guard Joel Bitonio moving over to left tackle to replace him.
Thomas, 30, has four-years remaining on his eight-year, $92 million contract that included $44 million guaranteed. His base salaries will be $8.8 million (2015), $8.3 million (2016), $8.8 million (2017), and $8.8 million (2018) over the remainder of the agreement.
For what it’s worth, the Browns would free up $9 million in available cap space while creating $1.2 in dead money by trading Thomas, according to OverTheCap.com.
Last year, Thomas has never missed a game in his NFL career while playing at a phenomenally high level. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 2 offensive tackle out of 76 qualifying players.
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