Cleveland Browns fans likely forgot about the importance of Sunday's game against the Tennessee Titans in the middle of the third quarter. That's when offensive tackle Joe Thomas was strewn out on the turf. Football players get injured, but something was shocking about seeing the star laying on the field. Maybe it's that he's the team's most important player. Or maybe it's that he hasn't been out of action for the team in quite some time. But when Thomas missed the next offensive snap, a historic streak came to an end.
Thomas' streak stops
With 5:35 remaining in the third quarter, the medical team of the Browns came on to the field to check on Thomas and help him get off the field.
He was later diagnosed with a left triceps injury. He was replaced by Spencer Drango, and the game went on, as it always does when a player suffers an injury. The next play went for a loss of six yards.
Just like that, Thomas' incredible streak of consecutive snaps came to an end. Prior to the injury, he had played in 10,363 straight offensive plays at one of the most physically-demanding positions in all of sports, beat up by defensive lineman and linebackers on every single one of those plays. He received a rousing standing ovation from the home crowd in Cleveland as he came off the field. Even Titans offensive tackle Taylor Lewan - part of a future generation of great offensive tackles - went across the field to pat Thomas on the shoulder as he walked away from his incredible streak.
What Thomas has accomplished
Thomas became the first player to play in 10,000 consecutive plays on offense earlier this season in a game against the Baltimore Ravens. He was drafted third overall in the 2007 NFL Draft, played the first snap of his rookie season, and never looked back. He made the Pro Bowl in all ten of his seasons, was named First Team All-Pro seven times, Second Team All-Pro twice, and became the heart and soul of the Browns.
During the offseason, Thomas revealed that he has begun dealing with memory loss. He will also be 33 years old by the end of the season - it's safe to wonder if his career is closer to its close than people realized back in August. If he is nearing the end, Thomas will surely retire as the most beloved football player in Cleveland since Jim Brown.
For now, people will wait for the official diagnosis for Thomas and count the days until he can start a new streak that will go unmatched in the NFL record book.
