Joe Thomas is one-step closer to being immortalized for eternity in the sport of professional football.
Earlier this evening, the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced the finalists for the class of 2023, which includes none other than former Wisconsin Badgers Left Tackle, Joe Thomas.
NFL Network caught up with Thomas following the announcement and here’s what the former Badger and Cleveland Brown had to say about the news:
“You just kind of well up with excitement when you get to hear your name as one of the finalists and you get an opportunity to kind of stroll down memory lane and just think about all the people that helped get you here and all the great teammates that you had a chance to play with that were such a big part of being able to get yourself as one of the Hall of Fame finalists.”
Following his career at Wisconsin and being selected third overall by the Cleveland Browns in the 2007 NFL Draft, Thomas says he was just focused on rookie training camp before setting his ultimate goal of being inducted into the Hall of Fame:
“I’d love to win a Super Bowl. I’d love to make the playoffs every season, blah, blah, blah. But personally, individually, those are my goals and those are the steps,” Thomas said. “For me, I always kind of expected perfection outta myself. And I knew that if I had an opportunity, God willing to play long enough, I was going to try to make the Pro Bowl every single season.”
“I knew if I could continue to maintain a level of excellence and continue to push myself for perfection, that I wanted to be a Hall of Famer. And so it kind of is a little bit surreal now thinking that we’re very close to the opportunity to be voted in on something that I said I wanted to do more than 15 years ago.”
Joe Thomas spent four seasons as a Wisconsin Badger following his high school playing career at Brookfield Central High School in Brookfield, Wisconsin. Thomas would then be selected third overall by the Cleveland Browns in the 2007 NFL Draft and would spend his entire professional career from 2007 through 2017 with the Browns.
College Accolades
- Outland Trophy (2006)
- Unanimous All-American (2006)
- 2× First-team All-Big Ten (2005, 2006)
NFL Accolades
- 6× First-team All-Pro (2009–2011, 2013–2015)
- 2× Second-team All-Pro (2008, 2012)
- 10× Pro Bowl (2007–2016)
- NFL 2010s All-Decade Team
- PFWA All-Rookie Team (2007)
- Most consecutive snaps played in NFL history: 10,363
- Cleveland Browns Ring of Honor
Thomas joins a list of other NFL greats to be named a finalist, a list that includes:
- Joe Thomas
- Jared Allen
- Willie Anderson
- Ronde Barber
- Dwight Freeney
- Devin Hester
- Torry Holt
- Andre Johnson
- Albert Lewis
- Darrelle Revis
- Zach Thomas
- DeMarcus Ware
- Reggie Wayne
- Patrick Willis
- Darren Woodson
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