One Way To Get Out Of Cleveland

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Peyton Manning was once so desperate for offensive line help, that QB1 suggested leaving a No. 2 in Cleveland. In order to facilitate a trade from Cleveland to Denver, the Hall of Famer QB reportedly told former Browns tackle Joe Thomas to go all Cleveland Steamer on a piece of office furniture.

Thomas explained Manning’s half-hearted attempt to lure him to Denver during a Wednesday edition of The Thom & Hawk Football Show podcast, which is hosted by Thomas and his former Browns teammate, Andrew Hawkins.

As Thomas tells it, just ahead of the 2015 trade deadline, Denver was seeking a tackle to replace injured starter Ryan Clady. Their top target was Thomas, a soon-to-be Hall of Famer, who was in the midst of another losing season by the lake. There was only one problem: Thomas didn’t want to leave Cleveland for a contender. He aspired to win in Cleveland rather than take the easy way out (just like LeBron, right?). Manning caught wind of Thomas’ hesitation and phoned the tackle to suggest he break wind and then some.

 

"[Manning]’s like, ‘Alright, here’s the game plan. Go into your GM’s office when he’s not there, pull your pants down and take a s--- on his desk. Then they can’t do anything but trade you, and then you can come win a Super Bowl with me,’" per The Thom & Hawk Football Show.

An amused Thomas responded by telling Manning, "Peyton, I appreciate your humor as always. I appreciate that you want me. That really gives me a lot of warm and fuzzies," Thomas told his podcast listeners. "But I’m not gonna be able to poop on my GM’s desk."

As fate would have it, the Broncos went on to win the Super Bowl a few months later, and Thomas’ season with the Browns ended in the toilet. Thomas can laugh about it now, but that’s the type of crappy situation only OBJ could love.