Former Browns star Joe Thomas calls on umpire to STOP after ‘criminal’ watch call in Cleveland’s preseason game against the Eagles: ‘He must turn in his certificate’
- Browns tackle James Hudson was penalized for holding at Lincoln Financial Field
- Thomas, who was working as a commentator on the night, destroyed field judge Nate Jones
- DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news
Former Browns offensive tackle Joe Thomas was furious over a “criminal” guard call in Cleveland’s preseason game against the Eagles on Thursday night.
The Browns and Eagles were held to a tie of 18-18 at Lincoln Financial Field, with each team completing its second preseason appearance to date.
While the main goal for both sides was to build fitness and work on strategies for the new season, Thomas still couldn’t contain his anger when he pinned Browns tackle James Hudson.
The 38-year-old, who works as a commentator for Cleveland’s ABC affiliate WEWS, saw the umpires throw a flag early in the second quarter and feared the umpire would penalize Hudson.
“Boy, I’ll be furious if this is on Hudson,” he said.
Former Browns star Joe Thomas on Thursday night urged umpire Nate Jones to stop performing
Thomas was left seething at Jones’ hold call on Cleveland tackle James Hudson
And when field judge Nate Jones confirmed the watch call to Hudson, Thomas even called for him to hand over his credentials and stop performing.
“Oh my god,” he moaned. ‘The referee must hand in his diploma as an official.’
Replays seemed to show that Hudson’s block on Janarius Robinson was clean and the Eagles star appeared to fall, but was not held.
Thomas then labeled the call “criminal” as he continued to criticize Jones’ decision.
“James Hudson does a perfect job using his inside arm to knock over the long arm,” said Thomas.
“The result is that the Philadelphia Eagles defensive end falls to the ground and the umpire, probably not paying attention, throws a flag at my man James Hudson, which is criminal!”
Thomas spent more than a decade as offensive tackle for the Browns, producing a record breaking streak of 10,363 consecutive snaps
There aren’t many better placed to comment on what is or isn’t neat on the offensive line than Thomas, who spent more than a decade with the Browns.
The Wisconsin man didn’t miss a single game in his career until the 2017 season, ending his record streak of 10,363 consecutive snaps.
His former team is set to face the Kansas City Chiefs in their final preseason game this Saturday before the season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals on September 10.