He said Ray Farmer tried to text him, but he didn’t get it because it was during a game and Farmer had been suspended — a reference to the former general manager being suspended for texting the sideline during his tenure with the Browns.

Thomas said Kyle Shanahan put together a 32-page PowerPoint presentation trying to convince him not to retire, a reference to Shanahan putting together a detailed explanation why the Browns should let him out of his contract as offensive coordinator after the 2014 season.

Thomas said he wanted to talk to former coach Eric Mangini, but he would have had to ride a bus with him to Connecticut — a reference to Mangini having Browns rookies bus to Connecticut and back to take part in Mangini’s coaching clinic.

Thomas said former quarterback Brandon Weeden tried to text, but he still was caught under a giant American flag (something that happened before Weeden’s first game in Cleveland); that former VP Sashi Brown tried to send information but didn’t submit it on time (a reference to the botched trade deadline deal for AJ McCarron); and that Johnny Manziel tried to call him from a club but the “money phone” didn’t have good service.

With Haslam listening and smiling, Thomas even described the Rob Chudzinski coaching era by saying “both those days were outstanding.”

The jokes somehow seemed fitting from the guy who a day earlier had posted this on Twitter:

Does anyone make a toothpaste tube of butter? That’s your million dollar idea @butterproject

— Joe Thomas (@joethomas73) March 19, 2018

There were plenty of serious moments. Thomas mentioned numerous people he wanted to thank, starting with Annie and his family and continuing through teammates, coaches (he credited former Browns line coach George Warhop for much of his growth), friends and front office types. Thomas even wiped his eye when the Cleveland chapter of the Pro Football Writers of America informed him that its player of the year award would henceforth be known as The Joe Thomas Award.

Thomas admitted that before he hurt his triceps in a loss to the Tennessee Titans last October — an injury that ended his consecutive snaps streak at 10,363 — he was already worried that he might not make it through the season. A knee issue plagued him the past few years and limited his practice time, ultimately leading to his retirement decision.

“I was feeling like I was in tough shape physically, my knee specifically,” Thomas said. “I was concerned that I wasn’t going to make it through the season. Not only that, but I was concerned that if I was going to make it, my performance was going to drop significantly because of what I had to go through to try to get the knee ready for Sunday.

“And sometimes it wasn’t really feeling all that ready.”

As for his success, the 10 Pro Bowls in 11 seasons and all the snaps, Thomas credited a basic mantra: Be on time, pay attention and work hard.

His plan is to move back to Wisconsin, where both his and Annie’s families live. But he wants to remain connected to the Browns and Cleveland. Thomas saved his last and most passionate thanks for Browns fans.

“The passion, toughness and determination that you display on a daily basis is an inspiration for myself and for all of my teammates and all the people that wear ‘Cleveland’ across their chest,” Thomas said. “You guys taught me what it means to be a Clevelander. Playing in front of the greatest fans in the NFL is easily the greatest honor that I’ve had in my 11-year career. I hope I was able to make you guys proud in the way that I was always proud when I told people boldly that ‘I am a Cleveland Brown.’ The excitement I had for my team and my city never wavered, no matter what the circumstances.”

As he continued his voice cracked just a bit.

“So it is with all of this,” he said, “that I must say goodbye.”

Thomas capped his emotional day at Quickens Loan Arena, where he took in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ game against the Milwaukee Bucks and was saluted by fellow Cleveland legend LeBron James.

CLEVELAND LEGENDS. @KingJames showing some love to @joethomas73. #ThankYou73 pic.twitter.com/EExdYPs8Ju

— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) March 19, 2018

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Ladouceur will join Hall of Famers Bob Lilly, Mel Renfro and Randy White as well as Lee Roy Jordan, Jethro Pugh, Tom Rafferty and Tony Romo with 14 years with the Cowboys.

Ladouceur turned 37 last week and has never missed a game in his career. Last season, the Cowboys monitored his practice time in the offseason and training camp, but he has yet to have a poor snap since joining the Cowboys in 2005.

The biggest beneficiaries to Ladouceur’s return are kicker Dan Bailey, punter Chris Jones and new special teams coach Keith O’Quinn,

Bailey and Jones have lauded Ladouceur’s work for years, while O’Quinn would not want to worry about a new snapper in his first season. The Oakland Raiders made contact with Ladouceur’s agent at the start of free agency and they already signed away special teams’ stalwarts Kyle Wilber and Keith Smith, who will rejoin former Cowboys special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia in the Bay Area.

Ladouceur is the second free agent the Cowboys have kept, having placed the franchise tag on defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence before the market opened. In addition to Wilber and Smith, the Cowboys also lost linebacker Anthony Hitchens to the Kansas City Chiefs.

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Curry, 29, had been cut by the Eagles on Friday to free up cap space. He was due to make $9 million in 2018. The team also explored trade options before the release.

To make room for Curry, the Bucs cut Robert Ayers, who was entering the third and final year of a three-year pact with the Bucs. He was set to make $6 million, including a roster bonus due on the fifth day of the league year.

Ayers produced 2.0 sacks in 12 games in 2017, as the Bucs finished the year with just 22 total sacks, last in the league. The previous year, Ayers had 6.5 sacks in 12 games.

Curry is the third defensive lineman the Bucs have signed this free-agency period, along with former Eagles teammate Beau Allen and defensive tackle Mitch Unrein.

Curry has not missed a regular-season game in four years, with 22 sacks since 2012. His best season came in 2014, when he finished with 9.0 sacks. Last year, he had 3.0 sacks but managed 41 quarterback hurries.

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Clayborn, who turns 30 in July, led the Falcons with a career-high 9.5 sacks in 2017. His total included a franchise-record six sacks in a win over the Dallas Cowboys.

Known for his relentless effort, Clayborn also had a team-high 17 quarterback hits this past season. He played 526 defensive snaps.

Clayborn could help the Patriots’ pass rush, which noticeably needed a boost in Super Bowl LII. Trey Flowers, who led the team in 2017 with 6.5 sacks, is the Patriots’ top player at defensive end, and he returns in 2018, the final year of his contract.

The Patriots relied on Flowers heavily last season, as they struggled to build depth at the position behind him. Clayborn, who is the Patriots’ first signing of a player from another team since free agency began Wednesday, could help ease some of that burden in 2018.

The Patriots also have second-year player Deatrich Wise Jr. at the position, and he showed promise after joining the team as a 2017 fourth-round pick out of Arkansas, playing in every game and totaling five sacks.

Before free agency, Clayborn told ESPN, “I got some years left in me.”

He indicated an agreement with the Patriots on Instagram on Friday afternoon, posting the team’s logo with the caption: “Dope.”

Clayborn began his career as a first-round draft pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and he posted 7.5 sacks — his previous benchmark — as a rookie in 2011. However, he battled injury issues during his four seasons with the Bucs, playing in just one game during the 2014 season and playing just three games during the 2012 campaign.

The injury bug again hit Clayborn with the Falcons in 2016, when he was placed on injured reserve with a ruptured biceps, which prevented him from finishing the season and playing in Super Bowl LI. He revealed he contemplated retirement following that injury but had a discussion with his wife and decided to continue playing.

Hill adds to a backfield that lost Lewis to the Tennessee Titans.

He was drafted by the Bengals, but the writing was on the wall for the 25-year-old as it became known that Cincinnati coveted a running back in the 2017 NFL draft and eventually took Joe Mixon in the second round.

He had a successful rookie season in 2014, rushing 222 times for 1,124 yards and 9 touchdowns. But he has never been the same since fumbling late in the 2015 AFC wild-card game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, ultimately contributing to an eventual loss. Since that game, Hill has combined for 955 yards and nine touchdowns in the last two seasons and lost playing time to Mixon last year.

With Burkhead and James White locks to make the Patriots’ roster at running back, Hill projects to compete with Mike Gillislee and veteran special-teamer Brandon Bolden for a roster spot. One area in which he could make his mark is as a power rusher; the 230-pound Hill is the biggest running back on the Patriots’ roster.

As for the 6-foot-6, 303-pound Tobin, his addition highlights how the Patriots must make contingency plans at left tackle after Solder signed a four-year, $62 million deal with the Giants as one of the NFL’s top free agents. After entering the NFL as an undrafted free agent out of Iowa in 2013, Tobin has been with the Eagles (2013-16) and Seahawks (2017), appearing in 57 games, with 21 starts.