TMZ.com ran a story Tuesday morning quoting three unnamed Browns players it claimed were offensive starters calling strongly but anonymously for Browns coach Mike Pettine to go back to Johnny Manziel at quarterback.
After Browns wide receiver Andrew Hawkins took to Twitter to deny the TMZ story’s claims, the topic came up in a radio interview with Browns Pro Bowl offensive tackle Joe Thomas on ESPN Cleveland Tuesday afternoon.
Not surprisingly, Thomas also took the dismissive route.
“It’s funny,” Thomas said, “because the first thing I [thought] about this article, it reminded me of being in college and picking up ‘The Onion,’ when you’d start reading this outrageous article and wonder who made it up.”
The Onion is a popular satirical news source that started as a print publication widely distributed on college campuses.
“It couldn’t be further from the truth,” Thomas said of the claims that the locker room is demanding Manziel replace Josh McCown. “It really belongs more in The Onion than a reputable news source, if that’s what we’re gong to call TMZ.
“I’d be shocked if they really found three starters who were behind those quotes.”
The entire Thomas interview from “The Golden Boyz” show can be heard here.
Though he admitted that players have discussed it, Thomas said he doesn’t believe the TMZ article is rooted in truth or will cause a rift in the locker room. He even joked that McCown may have been one of the players demanding a quarterback change.
“There are thousands of media sources in today’s day and age and constantly articles being put out there about different things and things that maybe aren’t true or are maybe being written to get a rise out of a certain segment of the population,” he said. “I don’t think many of the guys are going to give it too much credence.”
Thomas has gone to the Pro Bowl every year since the Browns used the No. 3 overall pick in the 2007 draft on him, and he’s never missed a snap. Asked why the Browns seem to be linked to stories about internal strife so often, Thomas gave an interesting answer.
“If you look at the big picture, the teams that have had that great Pro Bowl quarterback, the franchise quarterback...for many many years they tend to win a lot of games,” he said. “And when your team is winning there aren’t the rumor, gossip type stories that get put out there because people want to talk about the winning.
“I think these stories get highlighted more because of the losing.”