Hue Jackson doesn’t have a sense of what Joe Thomas will decide, but the Browns coach expects his left tackle to make a decision soon. Thomas has said he would let the Browns know by March 14 -- the start of free agency -- whether he was retiring.
“I’ve talked to Joe Thomas several times, and I think Joe is going to make a decision here hopefully fairly soon,” Jackson said at the NFL Scouting Combine. “But again, it’s on his time. Joe has been a tremendous Cleveland Brown, and he’s done everything and anything we’ve asked of him, so I think it’s only right that we give him an opportunity to work through this and make the best decision for him.”
Jackson was asked if he was alarmed by Thomas’ recent weight loss, a signal that Thomas might be leaning toward calling it a career after 11 seasons.
“Am I alarmed by it? No. I’ve seen him putting it back on here recently,” Jackson said. “He’s Joe. He knows how to get himself ready to play if he decides to play. For us as an organization, we’re going to do everything we can to be prepared whether he plays or he doesn’t play. I think that’s what our responsibility is.”