Rival clubs are determining the cost of possibly acquiring left tackle Joe Thomas from the Browns, reports Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. Cleveland’s new regime has been reluctant to deal Thomas — and Thomas himself didn’t request a trade over the offseason — but withe Browns off to a winless start, it’s possible they could be open to a move.
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The Broncos were among the teams interested in Thomas last year, and the Browns turned down an offer of edge rusher Shane Ray and a second-round pick in exchange for the future Hall of Fame tackle, according to La Canfora. Other reports at last year’s deadline indicated that Denver was willing to ship a first- and second-round pick to Cleveland for Thomas and a fourth-rounder.
Some NFL executives believe that the Browns could end up getting a first-round pick for Thomas, per La Canfora, who lists the Cardinals, Seahawks, and Panthers among the clubs that could express interest in Thomas. All three teams rank in the bottom-half of the league in adjusted sack rate, Football Outsiders’ pass-blocking metric.
Thomas, 31, has no prorated bonus money remaining, so an acquiring team would be on the hook for all of his future cap charges. He’s signed through 2018, with cap hits of $10MM in each of the next two seasons.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
31 10 mil/season for 2 seasons = mid to high 2nd rounder. Possibly a late 1st rounder if a Super Bowl contender loses their LT and has no decent backup option. But the Browns missed the boat on trading Thomas for a big haul. They’re 1 or 2 seasons late, maybe 3. Another good move by Cleveland.