We're two minutes from midnight on the Joe Thomas retirement/comeback decision clock, but the Cleveland Browns offensive lineman might be moving away from declaring DEFCON 1 on his NFL career.
On Saturday morning, Thomas reaffirmed via Twitter that he's a fan of quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who the Brownsagreed to acquire in a deal with the Buffalo Bills on Friday.
Thomas still hasn't publicly announced whether he'll play in 2018, but Friday's flurry of trades by the Browns, which included deals to acquire Jarvis Landry and Damarious Randall, might have been enough for general manager John Dorsey ensure his top QB protector will be back. While Thomas wants to make his decision before free agency begins Wednesday, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported last week that Thomas is already preparing to play next season.
Although Thomas has certainly earned the right to walk away after a Hall of Fame-caliber career in the trenches, it appears less and less likely he'll have to endure another winless or one-win season in the Dawg Pound. If the body that carried him through 10,363 consecutive snaps is up to the task, Thomas could very well be back on field in 2018.