NFL history: The Mount Rushmore of every NFL franchise

Cleveland Browns: Paul Brown, Jim Brown, Otto Graham, Joe Thomas

Some teams are so strong historically that the NFL wouldn’t feel right without them. That’s exactly how it was when the Cleveland Browns moved eastward in 1996 to become the Baltimore Ravens. The league ended up stepping in and doing the right thing by having the history of the team stay in one of the strongest sports cities in America.

After a few years of not being in the league, the Browns were back for the 1999 NFL season. Since then, they’ve struggled to find their way, but they do still have one modern era player on their Mount Rushmore — Joe Thomas.

A fixture at left tackle, Thomas made 10 Pro Bowls while playing 10,363 consecutive snaps. He never gave up, despite the team’s struggles. Thomas is still a strong advocate for them in his post-playing days.

He is joined by some of the biggest historical features in the team’s history on this Mount Rushmore. Paul Brown coached the team to four AAFC Championships. Not only that, he was their first coach and general manager and the team was even named after him.

His star quarterback was Otto Graham, who was a five-time Pro Bowl player and won seven total championships between the AAFC and the NFL.

The fourth face on this mountain is Jim Brown, the franchise’s leading rusher all-time. Brown is the most recognizable figure in the team’s history and even has a statue in front of FirstEnergy Stadium commemorating what he did on the field.