Browns 10-time Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Thomas will miss the rest of the season with a torn triceps he suffered in Sunday's 12-9 overtime loss to the Tennessee Titans at FirstEnergy Stadium.
Thomas underwent an MRI on Monday morning, and the test showed his left triceps is torn, the Browns announced. One of five players in NFL history to make the Pro Bowl in each of his first 10 seasons, Thomas tweeted he will undergo surgery soon.
Whether Thomas, 32, resumes his career remains to be seen. The future Hall of Famer has a year left on his contract, but he has repeatedly said he evaluates whether he'll keep playing at the end of each season. He has explained his health, performance and love of the game are the factors he weighs.
Thomas' amazing snap streak ended at 10,363 consecutive offensive plays when he suffered the triceps injury while shoving Titans outside linebacker Brian Orakpo at the end of a 3-yard rush by running back Duke Johnson with 5:35 left in the third quarter. Immediately after Thomas pushed Orakpo, he grabbed the back of his left arm, fell to the ground and screamed in pain. The Browns believe Thomas' streak is the longest in NFL history.
"I have done it a million times where you're going to block a guy and you're trying to finish him and get one last push, one last shove and just felt something unnatural in your arm," said Thomas, who has started all 167 games since the Browns drafted him third overall in 2007.
"Effectively, I did not have any function in my left arm. I think you can play with about 30 to 40 percent function in one arm, but when you have no function in one arm, it's hard to block edge rushers with only one hand."
Spencer Drango replaced Thomas at left tackle.
