It's probably a safe bet that a good number of Cleveland Browns players wouldn't object to being traded.
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They're 0-7, drowning in the kind of muck that seems to surround bad teams, and hope for a turnaround isn't anywhere near the horizon at this point. But offensive tackle Joe Thomas, a 9-time Pro Bowler, wants to stay in Cleveland, despite trade rumblings that say he's on the block.
"I really want to be here," Thomas told Ohio.com. "It's important for me to be part of the turnaround. I'm hoping that they stick to their word on that."
"That" being head coach Hugh Jackson's proclamation Monday to reporters.
"We are not going to trade Joe Thomas," Jackson said. "Joe Thomas has a lot to do with what we're trying to accomplish here in our future."
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Business, however, is business. And it's a concept Thomas is more than familiar with. The 10th-year veteran out of Wisconsin was just about jettisoned to Denver last year, but the deal fell through at the last minute. Even now, after getting some reassurance from coach Jackson just days ago, Thomas realizes the possibility of being dealt—-one trade rumor has Thomas going to the Minnesota Vikings—-is real.
"There's no surprises in the NFL," he said. "So you always have to be ready and be able to roll with any punches that you're given, but I wouldn't expect to be traded obviously. "But it wouldn't be the most shocking thing in the world because that's the way the NFL goes. We're commodities in this business, and we get traded just like stocks and bonds. So it's just part of what you have to accept when you become an NFL player."
