Browns legend Joe Thomas chased down by Air Force K-9 in wild experience thanks to USAA

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On Sept. 9, 2007, Joe Thomas, the third overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, took his spot at left tackle for the Cleveland Browns. At the time, Thomas didn’t know that he would play 11 seasons at the position, providing a constant presence for Cleveland before eventually becoming a Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2023 inductee. 

Instead, he was worried about one thing: Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman James Harrison. 

But an even more nervous feeling entered Thomas’ body recently when he visited Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio on behalf of USAA, the official NFL Salute to Service partner, to experience a day in the life of a military working dog unit. 

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Former NFL players Joe Thomas and Whitney Mercilus pose with Randolph Air Force Base canines and their trainers. (USAA)

Alongside Houston Texans legend Whitney Mercilus, Thomas not only learned what the canines and their trainers do on a daily basis, but they got to see just how fast the dogs are during the "K-9 forty."

Thomas and Mercilus put on dog training suits that allow the canines to replicate real-life scenarios of taking down perpetrators. The extreme padding lets the dog bite on command, and it won’t let go until directed to do so. 

DARRELLE REVIS, JOE THOMAS HIGHLIGHT PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2023

"My first start was against James Harrison and the Steelers. I knew he had the potential to hurt me, but I was pretty sure he wasn’t going to eat me," Thomas said jokingly to Fox News Digital. "I was not exactly sure in that moment when the dog took me down if he wasn’t going to eat me."

Thomas and