Despite never winning a ring, Joe Thomas sure earned his stripes in the National Football League.
He’s going to be enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame after his remarkable career, which he spent entirely with the Cleveland Browns.
However, there was a chance — albeit slim — that he could’ve played somewhere else and even won a Super Bowl before walking away from the game.
Thomas recently told Adam Schefter of ESPN how legendary QB Peyton Manning gave him a piece of advice to try and force his way out of Cleveland to join him on the Denver Broncos.
The advice that Peyton Manning gave incoming Hall-of-Fame OT Joe Thomas about how to force a trade to Denver from Cleveland:
🎧 https://t.co/svrOMpjNXi pic.twitter.com/19HKazLBf7
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 3, 2023
Back in 2015, the Broncos were reportedly trying to trade for Thomas to replace Ryan Clady, who was out for the season with a torn ACL.
So, Manning told Thomas to go into the GM’s office and literally “make a stink” on his desk, stating that it was the only way to get him out of Cleveland.
Needless to say, Thomas didn’t listen to that hilarious and gross advice.
The Broncos went on to win the Super Bowl by taking down the Carolina Panthers, whereas Thomas stayed with an ever-struggling franchise for an additional two years.
At the end of the day, he still managed to have a remarkable career, making it to 10 Pro Bowls and getting six All-Pro selections.
The moribund Browns were going nowhere at the time and talked with the Broncos about a deal for Thomas, a 10-time Pro Bowl selection and six-time All-Pro.
Hopefully, players won’t start a new trend now.
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