Joe Thomas will remain with the Cleveland Browns at least for now.
Thomas was a name being floated as possibly on the move prior to the NFL trade deadline set last Tuesday but it seems that the offensive left tackle will stay on with the Browns at least for this season.
One team interested in Thomas was the Denver Broncos. Apparently the Browns and the Broncos were in discussions for a possible deal but negotiations hit a snag when the two sides failed to come to terms on a potential deal.
According to a report from KUSA, the deal failed to prosper when both teams were unable to agree on the draft picks involved in the deal.
The Broncos had initially offered their 2017 first-round pick and their 2016 second round pick to the Browns in exchange for Thomas and a 2016 third-round pick. Cleveland countered and wanted a 2016 fifth-round selection to go along with Thomas. From here, both camps hit a snag.
With that said, Thomas remains as one of the Brown’s foundation players while the streaking Denver Broncos will continue to use Ryan Harris and Tyler Polumbus for the team’s left tackle position.
The 30-year-old Thomas has never missed a game ever since joining the Browns in 2007. He was the third overall draft pick of the 2007 NFL Draft and has been selected eight times to the Pro Bowl.
For his part, Thomas had no interest in being traded despite the Browns currently struggling with a 2-6 record.
"I'm not a guy that gives up on my goals, and my goal from day one was to be part of the turnaround here and that hasn't changed,” says Brown during an interview.
Thomas understands the reason behind his name being dragged into trade rumors due to the fortunes of the Browns at present. But given the choice, he stressed that he would want to finish his career as a Brown.
Browns general manager Ray Farmer also made it clear that the team had at no time tried to shop any player despite their not-so-impressive performance.
"There's not a single team that I called and said, 'Hey I'm shopping so and so.' There was no shopping from my perspective. But I definitely listened. I think that's part of my job.''
Though Thomas would have been a great addition to the Broncos, the failure of the two sides to a deal may have been lesser headache as well.
Had the deal materialized, the Broncos would have needed to find a way to squeeze in Thomas huge salary. Thomas has three years remaining on his existing contract which sums up to $29.5 ($9.5 M for 2016 and $10 M in 2017 and 2018).
The Broncos only had $5 million in salary cap space available after acquiring Vernon Davis from the San Francisco 49ers in a previous transaction.
A Thomas acquisition would have meant a need to restructure contracts of other players in the lineup or worse, making cuts.