CLEVELAND: Browns All-Pro left tackle Joe Thomas has been one of Johnny Manziel’s harshest critics and staunchest supporters at different stages of the troubled quarterback’s roller-coaster ride of a tenure in Cleveland.
Now with the Browns planning to cut Manziel on March 9, Thomas is left lamenting the wasted talent he has witnessed.
“I think it’s a sad end to the story in Cleveland for Johnny,” Thomas said Thursday night after an appearance at the Home and Garden Show at the I-X Center. “He’s a guy that personally I like. I believe he has a lot of talent. He’s got the talent to be an NFL quarterback, but it obviously hasn’t worked out so far.
“We hoped Cleveland was going to be where he became that starting NFL quarterback and was the starter in Cleveland for a long time, but it didn’t work out for a lot of reasons, and I’m sure he’d say that a lot of them were his own fault. So hopefully he’ll get his life on track and be able to use those talents at some point here in his career.”
Thomas didn’t want to comment on Manziel’s ex-girlfriend, Colleen Crowley, accusing the former Heisman Trophy winner of beating her and threatening to kill them both on Jan. 30 in Texas because he doesn’t have first-hand knowledge of the incident.
Manziel is the target of a criminal investigation by Dallas police, and his father told the Dallas Morning News last week he fears his son won’t live to see his 24th birthday in December if the doesn’t enter a drug and alcohol addiction rehabilitation center to get the help he needs.
“Whatever he’s dealing with, I hope that he’s able to get that under control and get things straightened out, and hopefully if football’s important to him, be able to put everything he has in his life into football,” Thomas said. “I hope that he has success with that, but obviously the other things that are going on in his life are more important right now because he needs to get those things solved and straightened out before he [tries] to make a comeback in football.”
The Browns drafted Manziel 22nd overall in 2014, and anytime a first-round pick fails to pan out, it sets an NFL franchise back.
Still, Thomas is optimistic because he thinks the Browns will draft their quarterback of the future second overall in late April.
“As long as they hit on that quarterback pick, we’re set up for a nice run, something the Browns deserve and the Browns fans deserve,” Thomas said. “You pick a guy like [Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback] Ben Roethlisberger, your franchise is good for 15 years. That’s what I’m hoping we do in this draft.”
The Browns also have veteran quarterback Josh McCown, who could serve as a bridge starter for another season.
“I wish this was the position we were in my second or third year,” said Thomas, who has nine NFL seasons under his belt. “We’re probably going to draft a first-round quarterback, the best quarterback in the draft or the second best at worst. And we’ve got a guy in Josh McCown who’s proven he can be a good player when he’s starting and healthy. [He’s] a tremendous mentor. You’re not going to find a better mentor as a quarterback in the NFL, and he’s better than you could do as a quarterback coach because he’s actually on the field showing the kid how to do it.
“So you’ve got hopefully the future of the franchise getting drafted in the first round, and then you’ve got Josh mentoring him and coaching him along the way. I can’t see a better situation that the Browns could possibly be in than that. As long as you pick the right quarterback, if there is one out there, the future is really bright for the Cleveland Browns ‘cause it doesn’t really matter what you do with the rest of the team if don’t have a quarterback.
“It’s great to hire a new coach and bring in free agents and stuff, but unless you solve the quarterback piece of the puzzle, you’ll be finding a new coach every two years. You look at the teams that are great in the NFL. Well, they’ve got great quarterbacks. That’s how you have continued, sustained success, especially in our division. I mean there’s three really good quarterbacks. So if you want to be competitive in the AFC North, you’ve got to have a top-flight quarterback.”
Thomas addressed several other topics. These are some highlights.
• NFL Network’s Michael Silver recently reported Manziel showed up to team headquarters drunk on Dec. 30 and the Browns placed him in concussion protocol to cover it up. The Browns denied the report. Silver backtracked on his claim that the team lied about Manziel suffering a concussion but maintained the player showed up drunk.
Thomas said he didn’t see Manziel that day before he left the facility.
“All I know is [Manziel] complained of concussion symptoms, and then he was gone,” Thomas said.
• Thomas reiterated he’s all-in with the Browns’ new regime despite saying immediately following the season he might not want to stick with the organization after coach Mike Pettine and General Manager Ray Farmer were fired.
He called the hiring of new coach Hue Jackson “a huge coup” for owner Jimmy Haslam. Thomas and Jackson talked in person last week at the Super Bowl.
“[Jackson] was the No. 1 guy that I was hoping that we would hire,” Thomas said. “I didn’t know what our chances would be because of the history that this franchise has had with firing coaches so quickly and going through so many different guys.
“He’s a guy that comes in with a lot of confidence. He has a history as a play caller, as an offensive genius, and I don’t think the Cleveland Browns can be any better off than we are with Hue Jackson.”
Thomas met new offensive line coach Hal Hunter a few years ago at the Pro Bowl and has heard positive reviews from players who have worked under him.
“We got the biggest fish to be had in this offseason [by hiring Jackson], and now he was able to put together an impressive staff,” Thomas said. “So the ship’s headed in the right direction.”
• Thomas also met with new executive vice president of football operations Sashi Brown shortly after the season and came away impressed. Brown has control of the 53-man roster.
“I’m really happy for him,” Thomas said. “He’s a guy that I’ve gotten to know over the last couple years in Cleveland. Even before he took over as the head man, even before the conversation we had after the season, I developed a relationship with him. All the things you hear in the media, that’s who he is. He’s a humble guy. It’s not an ego thing for him. He’s really smart and he’s very analytical, and I think he’s the right man for the job.”
• The Browns nearly traded Thomas to the Denver Broncos in October but stopped short of pulling the trigger. Thoughts of what could have been crossed Thomas’ mind when the Broncos won the Super Bowl on Sunday.
“It was funny or curious or whatever word you want to use watching the game thinking, ‘Oh, that could’ve been me out there playing in the Super Bowl,’” he said.
• Thomas said Jackson and Brown have told the nine-time Pro Bowler they want him to be an important part of the team and aren’t thinking about trading him.
“It’s flattering that anybody would say those things about you,” Thomas said. “I feel the same way about them, but at the same time, I don’t think they were planning on trading me last year when Denver called. So players are commodities, and if they feel like they’ve got a good value or a good opportunity to make the team better, they should get fired if they don’t make that decision.
“That’s your job when you’re in control of a football team is do everything they can to make the team better, whether that’s trade your 10-year guy or sign a guy that nobody’s ever heard of but you know he’s going to make the team better. Those are the decisions that you have to make and sometimes those are tough decisions. It’s a business. That’s the way it goes, so it’s great that they like me. I like them. I’d certainly like to be here, but those are decisions that are certainly out of my hands.”
• Thomas is still hoping three-time Pro Bowl center Alex Mack and right tackle Mitchell Schwartz will be retained. Mack can opt out of his contract and hit the open market, and Schwartz is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent next month.
“I understand from their perspective, from a business standpoint, they need to move on if they get a better offer somewhere else,” Thomas said. “I certainly would understand it, but I definitely hope that they’re back. I don’t know what the Browns’ perspective is on it. I feel like we have a lot of salary-cap space to spend on it.
“I’m not in the salary-cap meetings, but I’d certainly like to keep them. I think we have the best right tackle and the best center in the NFL, and I’d certainly like to keep those guys. You’re not going to make your team better by getting a worse player at those positions. That’s my take. But there are decisions that are made in football that are related to contracts that are unrelated to how good you are as a player or a person, so I can understand if things go differently, but I’d like them to be here obviously.”