Cleveland Browns: 3 Players deserving a spot in the Legends Program

With the Cleveland Browns announcing the 2021 Legends Program honorees, here are three more alumnus deserving of the acclaim.

The Cleveland Browns announced the induction of Bill Nelson and D’Qwell Jackson into their Legends Program, so that got us thinking: What other Cleveland alumni deserve the recognition for their contributions to the historic franchise?

The Browns are set to celebrate their 75th anniversary this upcoming season and Legends Program nominees include 2021 inductees Josh Cribbs and Webster Slaughter, as well as the aforementioned Nelson and Jackson. The former players are set to be honored at the Browns’ Week 3 home game against the Chicago Bears.

The honor is bestowed upon former-Cleveland Browns players who have helped contribute to the 75 year history of the franchise or achieved career success while wearing the Brown and Orange. So lets take a look at three potential nominees we’d like to see in the coming years.

These 3 players deserve a spot in the Cleveland Browns Legends Program

3. Daylon McCutcheon, Cornerback

A third-round pick in the 1999 expansion draft, Daylon McCutcheon anchored the Cleveland Browns secondary for seven years, starting in his first five seasons with the team. A tackling machine, McCutcheon ended his time with the Browns with 396 tackles, seven sacks, two interceptions, seven forced fumbles and two defensive touchdowns.

While his production dropped off his last two years, McCutcheon helped to keep the spirit of the old Dawg Pound defenses alive after the team restarted operations, and is wildly overlooked as one of the better corners of the early 2000s. McCutcheon is well deserving of a spot in the program.

2. Phil Dawson, Kicker

There really isn’t much to say about Phil Dawson. One of the most consistent and reliable kickers throughout the 2000s and 2010s, Dawson was with the Cleveland Browns when they came back in 1999, and was a staple of of the Browns for more than a decade after.

Dawson was able to do something most other kickers never mention to master — kicking in every type of weather imaginable. Sunshine, rain, blizzards, nor the Lake Erie winds could rattle Dawson, and his stats show it.

Dawson finished his time in Cleveland completing 221 field goals (83.1 percent accuracy) and 264 extra points made (97.1 percent accuracy). Oh, and he had an entire rule named after him after a kick bounced off the uprights and fell back through the goal posts (and that kick was good, too).

Next to Lou Groza, Dawson is the greatest kicker the Browns ever had and his name is a shoe-in for the Legends Program in the next few years.

1. Joe Thomas, Left Tackle

It’s not a matter of if, but when, Joe Thomas will be indicted into the Legends Program, and most likely the Pro Football Hall of Fame as well. Thomas played all 10 of his pro seasons in Cleveland, amassing ten Pro Bowl nominations, six First-Team All Pro nominations, and two Second-Team All-Pro nominations in that time.

Thomas played and started in all 167 games of his career, and his 10,363 consecutive snaps played streak is the longest ever in the NFL since they began recording the statistic in 1999.

A stalwort of the Browns offensive line for a straight decade, the “Iron Man” of the NFL may be the most deserving of an induction into the Legends Program in Cleveland Browns’ history, and that isn’t really hyperbolic.