The opening of the NFL's 2018 calendar year will long be remembered for two reasons in Cleveland.
One is Joe Thomas' retirement. The other is the day the Browns officially began laying the groundwork for a much brighter future.
Yes, it's a shame Cleveland’s cornerstone left tackle will not be on the field to personally experience the long-awaited revival of the league's worst franchise. Nobody connected to the organization is more deserving than Thomas, who was the team's only consistent on-field positive over the past 11 seasons.
But the harsh reality is Thomas could not continue playing at an elite level. Heck, Thomas might not have even made it through the 2018 season based on the physical toll he suffered while stringing together what is believed to be an NFL-record streak of 10,363 consecutive snaps until tearing his triceps last October.
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On his podcast “The ThomaHawk Show,” Thomas revealed damage that included "four knee surgeries, countless ligament tears, muscle tears (and) arthritis in just about every joint in my body." Thomas also recounted just how badly he was feeling even before the triceps tear; and this doesn't even count the mental and emotional toll of playing for a squad that had won more than five games just once during the previous decade.
"I remember a time during the season last year where I was standing in front of the media,” Thomas said. “I had Mobic (meloxicam) in my body, which is a real powerful anti-inflammatory. I had Tylenol and Vicodin, too, and I couldn't stand for more than a minute or two without excruciating bone pain in my knee and in my back.
"You just get to that point where you can’t do it anymore."
Thank goodness Thomas did not try to put his 33-year-old body through any more torture. Trying to further extend his career might have left Thomas in the same kind of post-football distress as fellow ex-tackle Jake Long, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2008 draft who shared details earlier this week on Twitter about the price he paid by trying to extend his playing days.
Of course, it isn't easy to walk away from the $13 million salary Thomas was set to collect this season — especially because his expected jump to the television announcing booth won’t pay nearly as much. Thomas also will always have a sense of unfinished business from a team standpoint since he never got to appear in a playoff game let alone Super Bowl. A 10-6 rookie season in 2007 is as good as it got.
Thomas, though, can take solace in knowing this generation of Browns players won’t have to endure the same frustration and humiliation associated with a club that has lost 40 of its past 42 games, including an 0-16 record in 2017.
That’s because the Browns finally have a general manager with a vision for success.
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Upon his in-season hiring last December, general manager John Dorsey made an immediate statement that things would be different. His first personnel act was cutting wide receiver Kenny Britt, a major free-agent bust who had come to personify the kind of underachievement and unprofessional nature long associated with the franchise.
Dorsey wasn't done there. He quickly gutted a front-office staff that was smart with analytics and football data but dumb in applying it to roster building. Dorsey then began putting to good use the $100 million-plus available in salary cap space and collection of prime 2018 draft picks accumulated by predecessor Sashi Brown.
By scoring Tyrod Taylor in a trade with Buffalo, Dorsey secured a veteran bridge quarterback who could help guide the Browns until the franchise passer Cleveland is expected to choose with the No. 1 overall selection is ready to play. The offense was further buttressed with the acquisitions of wide receiver Jarvis Landry, right tackle Chris Hubbard and running back Carlos Hyde, whose high-priced signing Wednesday likely means Cleveland won’t be using the top pick on Penn State star Saquon Barkley (wah-wah).
The defense wasn't ignored, either, with safety Damarious Randall and cornerback T.J. Carrie now in the fold as projected starters. All of these pre-negotiated moves became official Wednesday when such transactions could get finalized under league rules.
This isn't to say Browns fans should be booking reservations in Atlanta for Super Bowl 53.
There is still no indication that Hue Jackson is the right head coach, as he too deserves significant blame for Cleveland’s 1-31 record the past two seasons. It’s also fair to question whether Dorsey and Jackson, whose 2018 retention came at the mandate of buffoonish Browns owner Jimmy Haslem, will prove a good match. It sure looks like Jackson has even less influence inside the organization than ever judging by two of Cleveland’s offseason decisions.
The first was the hiring of Todd Haley, with whom Jackson has no previous professional ties, as offensive coordinator and giving him what were Jackson’s play-calling responsibilities. The other was Dorsey trading for Taylor rather than attempting to sign Cincinnati’s AJ McCarron, the quarterback Jackson has long tried bringing to the Browns based upon their close relationship when both were with the Bengals.
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Dorsey is under pressure, too. He must continue trying to change Cleveland’s losing culture. He must make the right choice in the draft in order to end the constant quarterbacking change that forced Thomas to play with 19 different starters during his Browns tenure.
The only thing we know for sure is Thomas is headed for first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Fame induction when he becomes eligible in five years.
But if the first few months of the Dorsey era are any indication, maybe some other Browns can eventually join him.
Alex Marvez can be heard from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET Thursday and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. ET Friday on SiriusXM NFL Radio.
