Joe Thomas will miss the rest of the season with left triceps tear

Cleveland Browns left tackle Joe Thomas will miss the rest of the season due to a torn triceps he suffered in a Week 7 loss against the Tennessee Titans, the team announced Monday. Heading into Week 7, Thomas, 32, has never missed a game or snap in his career. In fact, he played in 10,363 consecutive snaps in his career before the injury.

What happened?

Thomas injured his left triceps during a Duke Johnson Jr. 3-yard run late in the third quarter. Thomas laid on the turf while holding his left elbow and later left the game. Moments later, the Browns tweeted that their star left tackle wouldn’t return due to a tricep injury. Spencer Drango filled in for Thomas.

According to ESPN’s Pat McManamon, The 10-time Pro Bowler exited the locker room sporting a sling on his left arm. McManamon also pointed out that Thomas had to undergo an MRI to figure out the exact injury. Browns head coach Hue Jackson said Thomas’ injury was personal to him.

“He’s a huge part of what we do, a huge part of this organization. And we’ll see where he is, but obviously, that’s a big blow,” Jackson said.

After the game, Thomas said he didn’t have any function in his left arm. “I think you can play about 30 or 40 percent function with your one arm, but when you have no function in one arm, it’s hard to block edge rushers with only one hand,” Thomas said.

Still, Thomas is proud of how durable he was over the course of his career. He takes pride in that. “But it’s a violent game, and those type of streaks, they always going to come to an end. It wasn’t an infinity streak.”

Unfortunately for the Browns, Thomas will not play another snap this season — which is unfortunate because he has represented continuity for the Browns since his rookie year in 2007.

What does this mean for the Browns?

Cleveland already has quarterback problems, and it has now lost its best player for the season. Thomas is considered one of the greatest left tackles of all time. The Browns are currently 0-7, and this injury is a major blow to the offense and the team as a whole.

Now, the Browns will have to depend on Drango from here on. Just when you thought this season could not get any worse for the Browns, it did on one single play.