Hall of Famer Joe Thomas Talks Browns, Vikings, New Pod, More

Joe Thomas joined the show, with Andrew Siciliano hosting, and proved he's as devoted to his cattle as he ever was to protecting a quarterback's blind side. The Hall of Famer turned rancher came on to talk about his new Hall of Fame Farms YouTube series, the Browns and Vikings quarterback battles, and, eventually, the calves he had to go tag afterward.

The series, the Hall of Fame Experience, invites notable guests to his Wisconsin farm, where he raises Hall of Fame Wagyu and Angus. The debut episode with Jared Allen was instant comedy. Allen, who grew up on a cutting-horse ranch and is launching Full Ride Bourbon in a collaboration with Hall of Fame Farms, showed up without his horses but with a branded case full of lassos, explaining the different weights and stiffnesses the way Thomas, a former shot-putter, once fussed over his implements. With no horses, they tried roping calves off the back of a bouncing ATV, and Allen actually lassoed a back leg before an athletic Wagyu calf leapt through the rope and sent him flipping, as Thomas put it, ass over teakettle. Thomas's first thought was an insurance claim on his very first episode, but Allen, a man of steel, popped right up.

Future episodes, Thomas said, cater to each guest. Barstool's Chef Donnie cooked over an open fire at a woods campsite alongside Kay Adams, Midwest comedian Charlie Berens has filmed, and more chefs, musicians, and Hall of Famers are booked for the summer. He's even hosted Brewers like Jacob Misiorowski and Ryan Braun. For Thomas, showing people his transition from the football field to the farming field has been a joy he'd pursue even without the cameras.

On football, Thomas gave his read on the Browns. Deshaun Watson, he believes, is probably the guy going into camp, healthy off his Achilles with the arm and legs back and the scrambling versatility Shedeur Sanders doesn't yet bring. On the Vikings, he was more definitive: the competition is over, and Kyler Murray has won it. When a team admits a first-round pick didn't work and spends the resources Minnesota spent on Murray, that makes him the starter, because the receivers around him didn't trust J.J. McCarthy. Thomas expects McCarthy to be firmly the backup, with a chance to develop down the line.

The fit with Kevin O'Connell is what excites him. Thomas and Siciliano recalled an undefeated Cardinals team that once had Murray in the MVP conversation before Aaron Rodgers and the Packers beat them, and Thomas believes O'Connell, fresh off revitalizing Sam Darnold, is licking his chops to unlock Murray's talent and use his calm to smooth out the rough stretches.

Then came the most Joe Thomas ending imaginable. He had to get off the air to go tag calves, and not the gym kind. He explained that his five local high-school interns from Muskego, Wisconsin, couldn't wrestle down a bull calf that had ripped out its ear tag and now weighs around 360 pounds, so they were calling in the reliever. Thomas would come tackle the calf while the crew distracted its mother. Siciliano tapped out at "ear tag," but pointed everyone to halloffamefarms.com and the Hall of Fame Farms YouTube page, where the Jared Allen episode lives, before Thomas signed off insisting he needed steroid turkey legs.