So why didn’t the Browns trade left tackle Joe Thomas to the Broncos this week? Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that the trade didn’t happen because Thomas wanted guaranteed pay in 2016 and 2017, but the Broncos declined to make that commitment.
Signed through 2018, Thomas is due to make $8.3 million, $8.8 million, and $8.8 million over the next three seasons, respectively.
Rapoport also reports that Thomas specifically asked the Browns to explore trade possibilities. And that will raise eyebrows in Cleveland, given that this specific news makes Thomas look like a liar.
“Certainly I would have been really crushed being traded and leaving all these guys that you work so hard with and all these coaches and the people that are in this building and these fans,” Thomas said after the trade didn’t happen. “It wasn’t until after the deadline that I realized that it was more serious than maybe just a rumor. At that point it was like, ‘Oh, interesting.’”
That explanation simply doesn’t mesh with the notion that he wanted the team to explore trade options, and that the trade with Denver didn’t happen because he wanted guaranteed money in 2016 and 2017.
Last Sunday, Thomas said he’s “not a quitter.” Added Thomas: “I want to be here. I want to finish my career here. I want to be part of the turnaround here.”
Rapoport’s report is quite the turnaround from what Thomas said. And with the Browns not playing Sunday, look for Thomas to say something about this new report.
