Cleveland Browns left tackle Joe Thomas has been out of commission for some time due to his season-ending triceps injury. This long layoff has apparently given Thomas time to think about the personnel moves the Browns should do this offseason.
Thomas shared some of his personal teambuilding thoughts in a recent appearance on ESPN Radio, and he revealed he’d go after quarterback Kirk Cousins in free agency.
“We have $118 million in cap space. So we have plenty of money to do whatever we want,” Thomas said. “But I would actually sign Kirk Cousins and then I would use the first and fourth pick on the best players available. Probably [Penn State running back] Saquon Barkley and one of the defensive players. I’m not exactly sure where they go, where they rank all the quarterbacks. For me, I would rather sign Kirk Cousins because we have the money. Then you don’t have to trade a draft pick for Alex Smith.”
The Browns, who own the No. 1 and No. 4 picks in the draft, have unsurprisingly been linked with taking the top quarterback prospects like Josh Allen. But by mentioning Cousins and Smith, Thomas has made it clear that he’d much rather be protecting a proven and experienced quarterback instead of another young QB next season. That is, if Thomas does decide to come back next season.
It’s hard to blame Thomas for picking the more proven commodity like Cousins as opposed to a lottery ticket like Allen. Thomas' injury has shown he is indeed mortal and likely doesn’t have much time left in the game to wait for a rookie QB to develop. A more experienced quarterback gives him a better shot at being part of one more successful Browns team before he finally calls time on his Hall-of-Fame career.
It remains to be seen whether John Dorsey will follow any of Thomas' suggestions. But if it means Thomas decides to come back for another year, then it would at least be worth considering.
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