CLEVELAND (AP) Joe Thomas didn't have much to celebrate during 11 seasons playing left tackle for the Cleveland Browns. It was mostly misery. Marc-Edouard Vlasic Jersey Numerous coaching changes. An ownership switch. One winning season. An 0-16 final one.In two weeks, Thomas can make up for everything he didn't get.One of 15 finalists for enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Thomas has a strong chance to be selected in his first year of eligibility.With a resume that includes 10 consecutive Pro Bowls, a streak of 10,363 consecutive snaps and universal praise as one of the best to ever play his position, Thomas appears close to a lock as po sible.I feel like I did what I could during my time in the NFL and you never know how the voters are going to lean one way or the other or what theyre going to weigh more than something else, he said Wednesday night before hosting the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards. But I feel pretty confident.Thomas will find out on Feb. 9 when this year's cla s is announced at the NFL Honors show in Arizona as part of Super Bowl week festivities. Before then, Thomas, who retired following Cleveland's winle s 2017 season, insists he's not feeling any nerves as the day approaches.I dont really have a whole lot of anxiety because the old farmer saying is the hays in the barn already, said Thomas, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2007 draft. Paul Martin Jersey "Im sure when the day comes that we find out, Ill have some more butterflies."But right now I feel like Im just annoying my son because he tells me every day his friends ask him if he learned yet if his dad was in the Hall of Fame and he gets mad because he doesnt know yet, and then he yells at me about it. So itll be nice to get my son off my back.If elected, Thomas will be the 18th player in Cleveland history to be immortalized in nearby Canton, Ohio, and first from the team's inglorious expansion era.Since 1999, the Browns have been mostly an embarra sment. The chance for Browns fans to puff out their chests because Tomas Hertl Jersey of him isn't lost on Thomas.It wasnt the greatest 20-some years since the team came back, but me po sibly being in the Hall of Fame will be one of the highlights, the Wisconsin native said. Im certainly planning on celebrating with the Brent Burns Jersey city if we make it happen this year.Thomas hasn't allowed himself to think too far ahead. But there have been some preliminary discu sions with family about what could happen this summer. If he's elected, one thing is certain.Celebrating as big and as long as po sible, the 38-year-old father of four said. "Were going to have a party here.If there's anything that could hold Thomas back from induction this year, it's the Browns' lack of succe s. In the past, some Hall of Fame candidates have been penalized by playing for losing teams.Former Browns teammate Joe Haden believes did Thomas more than enough."Its not Joe's fault that the Browns didnt win and go to the playoffs, said Haden, who played in Cleveland from 2010-16. If he was on any other team, he wouldve been a Super Bowl champion. So for everybody to notice his greatne s and know that hes a first-ballot Hall of Famer, no matter what fan base you talk to, it just shows that greatne s like that is going to get noticed by everybody.Thomas quickly endeared himself to Cleveland's fans in 2007, when he skipped the draft in New York so he could go fishing in Wisconsin with his dad. It was an early sign of loyalty from a player who would later turn down chances to go elsewhere.Thomas joked he might make a similar decision for the Hall's ceremony in August.Anything can happen if the fish are Joel Ward Jersey biting, he said.___AP NFL: hub/NFL and AP_NFL in this topic