Former Browns star Joe Thomas calls for referee to QUIT over ‘criminal’ holding call in Cleveland’s preseason game against the Eagles: ‘He needs to turn in his certificate’
- Browns tackle James Hudson was penalized for holding at Lincoln Financial Field
- Thomas, working as a commentator on the night, blasted field judge Nate Jones
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Former Browns offensive tackle Joe Thomas was left seething over a ‘criminal’ holding call in Cleveland’s preseason game against the Eagles on Thursday night.
The Browns and Eagles were held to an 18-18 tie at Lincoln Financial Field, where each team completed its second outing of preseason so far.
Though while the main aim for both sides was to build fitness and work on strategies ahead of the new season, Thomas still couldn’t contain his fury at a holding call on Browns tackle James Hudson.
The 38-year-old, working as a commentator for Cleveland’s ABC affiliate WEWS, saw the officials throw a flag early in the second quarter and feared the referee would penalize Hudson.
‘Boy, I’m gonna be livid if this is on Hudson,’ he said.
Former Browns star Joe Thomas urged referee Nate Jones to quit officiating on Thursday night
Thomas was left seething at Jones’ holding call on Cleveland tackle James Hudson
And when field judge Nate Jones confirmed the holding call on Hudson, Thomas even called for him to hand over his credentials and quit officiating.
‘Oh my goodness,’ he moaned. ‘The referee needs to turn in his certificate for being an official.’
Replays appeared to show that Hudson’s block on Janarius Robinson was clean and the Eagles star appeared to fall to grown, but not held.
Thomas went on to brand the call ‘criminal’ as he continued to criticize Jones’ decision.
‘James Hudson does a picture-perfect job using his inside arm to knock down the long arm,’ Thomas said.
‘The result is that the Philadelphia Eagles defensive end falls to the ground and the official, who’s probably not paying any attention, throws a flag on my man James Hudson which is criminal!’
Thomas spent over a decade as offensive tackle for the Browns, producing a record run of 10,363 consecutive snaps
Not many are better placed to comment on what’s clean or not on the offensive line than Thomas, who spent over a decade with the Browns.
The Wisconsin man did not miss a single play in his career until the 2017 season, bringing his record run of 10,363 consecutive snaps to an end.
His former team is set to face the Kansas City Chiefs in its final preseason game next Saturday before the season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals on September 10.
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