Peter King’s NFL All-Time 53-man roster was released by NBC Sports on Monday. Tight end Mark Bavaro and former star lineman Joe Thomas (left) of the Cleveland Browns were selected. (Image of Thomas courtesy of Nick Wass/AP) (Focus on Sport/Getty Images photo of Bavaro)Getty Photographs
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According to Peter King of NBC Sports, two former Cleveland Browns players stand out as some of the greatest to have ever played in the NFL.
King’s NFL All-Time 53-man roster was unveiled on Monday and included tight end Mark Bavaro and former Browns standout left tackle Joe Thomas. There were five reserve players, eight special teams players, 19 players on defense, and 21 players on offense on the roster.
Along with former Cincinnati Bengals tackle Anthony Munoz and former Baltimore Ravens tackle Jonathan Ogden, Thomas was one of King’s three chosen tackles. The Browns chose the 10-time Pro Bowler and six-time All-Pro honoree in the first round, third overall, of the 2007 NFL Draft, and he spent his entire 11-year NFL career in Cleveland. Known for his unwavering consistency, Thomas has played 10,363 consecutive snaps in the NFL, an all-time record that he started as a rookie in 2007 and finished during his final season in 2017 after 167 straight starts for the Browns. He was admitted as a member of the Class of 2023 to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
On draft day, Thomas chose to go fishing rather than visit Radio City, which foretold his future in football, according to King. “Just worked for one of the worst football teams every day without ever complaining, and they had an incredible run of 10,363 consecutive plays. Imagine spending 10.5 years playing every play for a losing team in front of 20 different quarterbacks.
One of the five bench players who were added to King’s roster, Bavaro also played well for the Browns, though his time there was far shorter than Thomas’. Before spending one season with the Browns in 1992, the former great player from Notre Dame spent his first six seasons in the NFL with the New York Giants, where he won the Super Bowl in both the 1986 and 1990 seasons. For the Bill Belichick-coached Browns that season, he started all 16 games and hauled in 25 receptions for 315 yards and two scores. Bavaro played with the Philadelphia Eagles for two more seasons after spending a year in Cleveland, and he retired at the end of the 1994 NFL season. In 126 games played, including 123 starts, he concluded his NFL career with 351 receptions for 4,733 yards and 39 touchdowns. Bavaro
