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Two former Browns linemen named to NFL All-Decade Team

Joe Thomas and Alex Mack both earn a spot on the team for the 2010s.

By Thomas Moore
Buffalo Bills v Cleveland Browns Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images

The NFL and the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced its All-Decade team for the 2010s on Monday and a pair of former offensive linemen for the Cleveland Browns made the cut.

Left tackle Joe Thomas, who played for the Browns from 2007 through 2017, and center Alex Mack, who was with the club from 2009 through 2015, were selected to the 55-member team.

The selections were made by the Hall of Fame’s 48-member selection committee and a player had to have made at least one Pro Bowl team, Associated Press All-Pro team or the Pro Football Writers Association all-conference team during the decade to be eligible.

The Browns joined the Dallas Cowboys as the only two teams to have multiple offensive linemen selected, according to clevelandbrowns.com. Thomas was just one of eight players who were unanimous selections to the all-decade team, and the only offensive lineman. (The full roster is available at NFL.com.)

The Browns selected Thomas with the third overall pick of the 2007 NFL Draft and he went on to play every offensive snap for the team until he suffered a career-ending injury in 2017 during a Week 7 game against the Tennessee Titans. That streak covered 167 consecutive games and 10,363 plays.

Thomas made the Pro Bowl in every one of the 10 seasons he played, a franchise record, and a streak that matched the ones by running back Barry Sanders, linebacker Lawrence Taylor, cornerback Mel Renfro and defensive tackle Merlin Olsen, all of whom are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Thomas also made the Associated Press All-Pro team eight times, six of which were first-team selections.

Cleveland selected Mack in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft and he went on to play in 101 games for the Browns, making three Pro Bowls. According to the team’s website, Mack is one of just three centers in franchise history to make multiple Pro Bowls, joining John Morrow (1962 and 1964) and Tom DeLeone (1980 and 1981).

Mack left the Browns following the 2015 as a free agent, signing with the Atlanta Falcons.

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