Browns' legend Joe Thomas doesn't hold back on praise for Joel Bitonio

· Yahoo Sports

There is a realistic chance that Cleveland had two Hall-of-Fame linemen playing right next to each other for four consecutive seasons.

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From the time that Bitonio was drafted in the 2014 NFL Draft until the time that Thomas hung them up in 2017, they were Batman and Robin on the Browns' offensive line. Thomas went on Cleveland radio on Wednesday to talk about his old friend and playing partner, and Thomas didn't hold back any praise.

In his 11-year career, Thomas had seen plenty of people who did it wrong. He saw way more losses than wins, never saw the Playoffs, countless coaches, a handful of regimes, and pretty much everyone did things the wrong way. He knows what that looks like, and he knew that from the moment he met Joel that he had it right.

Thomas said, "I remember him coming in and I didn't know a lot about him, but as soon as he walked in, I was like 'ok, this guy's got it.'"

Got it he did. Joel was everything that a fanbase could ever want for 12 seasons. He, like Thomas, didn't experience all that much winning, but it didn't matter. Week after week, year after year, number 75 was on the field wearing the orange and brown.

He is going to be remembered for being one of the best left guards in the history of the game, but what Browns fans will keep in the back of their minds is his willingness to do anything that was needed. If the Browns needed a tackle, he was there; if they needed a center, he would slide down; if they needed to flip to right guard, he would do it.

Joel was about the team and was about the Browns. If you cut him open, he would bleed orange and brown. That is everything that Browns fans could ever want in one of their best players, and he was that for 12 seasons.

Thomas finished his radio hit saying, "He is obviously a great athlete, he is a big guy, he has the physical characteristics but as soon as he walks into the meeting room, eyes are open, mouth is shut. He is listening, he is taking notes, he is attentive, he is starting to talk to some of the older guys. It became apparent right away that this guy is serious, he is motivated, he wants to be great. It is important to him and he is willing to learn... He picked things up so quickly as a rookie that I think it was really obvious from the start that he was going to be an all-pro and one of the all-time greats for the Browns."

Pretty incredible words from one of the greatest to another.

This article originally appeared on Browns Wire: Browns' legend Joe Thomas doesn't hold back on praise for Joel Bitonio

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