Cleveland Browns offensive tackle Joe Thomas has had a tumultuous season.
Despite receiving a raise in November, which made him the league's highest-paid offensive lineman, Thomas is uncertain whether he'll return for his 12th season, one he expects to be the long-overdue turning point for the team.
"We are going to basically start going all-in like the other 31 NFL teams do every year and give the coaches an opportunity to improve on the win-loss record they have had so far," Thomas said, according to Tom Withers of The Associated Press.
"I think it will come down to really, first and foremost, my health. Do I feel like I'm still playing at an elite level and do I still love it? For me, I feel like when I make that decision, which will be after the season, that is really what it is going to come down to," said Thomas.
A triceps injury ended his season in mid-October, while also halting his consecutive snaps streak. As a result, his run of making it to the Pro Bowl in each of his first 10 seasons, since being drafted in 2007, also came to an end.
The Browns now sit at 0-15 and are just a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers away from the NFL's first winless season since the 2008 Detroit Lions.
Despite Cleveland's 1-30 record over the past two seasons under head coach Hue Jackson, the 33-year-old Thomas believes the current coach has done what's been expected of him thus far and deserves another chance next season.
"I am excited for it," Thomas said. "I think Hue really has not been given the opportunity yet to prove what kind of coach he is. From a wins and losses standpoint obviously, the plan for a few years here was to try to attain the highest draft picks possible which is what we have successfully done."
