Tra Thomas Retires As An Eagle This Thursday

Tra Thomas announced via twitter this morning and the Eagles confirmed that he will be retiring as a member of the team this Thursday. The former #11 overall pick by the Eagles in 1998 spent 11 years in Philadelphia, making 3 Pro Bowls in the process.

Eagles owner Jeff Lurie says he's simply the best.

"Tra Thomas is one of the best offensive linemen to ever put on an Eagles uniform. He was an anchor at the left tackle position for many years and played such an integral role in our success, though he probably never got all the credit he deserved. Besides being such a great player, Tra is an even better person and someone I've always had a great relationship with. I'm proud of what he has done with his career after football as he has remained very successful while keeping his home in this area. We are very happy that he is retiring as an Eagle."

Left tackle is one of the premier positions in the league. Its the 2nd highest paid position in the league behind QB. And Tra manned that spot for this team for over a decade at a high level. We had this debate before about him vs Jason Peters as the Eagles all time LT and for me, there's no question. It's Tra and he absolutely deserves Dawkins-like treatment and gets to retire an Eagle.

Peters may have had higher highs than Thomas, but the sheer amount of time and production Tra amassed in Philadelphia puts him clearly on top right now for me. He was also voted as the teams' all-time LT as part of their 75th anniversary team, so he's already got that mantle.

The Eagles sent out a summary of his accomplishments here and for an offensive lineman, its really impressive.

Thomas finished his career with the Eagles in 2008 ranked second in club annals in games played by an offensive lineman (166) and fourth overall, missing only eight games due to injury during that time span. In fact, he and former right tackle Jon Runyan started 134 games together, the most by a tackle tandem in franchise history. In addition, Thomas started in 17 career playoff games with the Eagles, including five NFC championship games and one Super Bowl appearance. Only Brian Dawkins made more playoff starts with the team (18).

You can see Tra as an Eagles analyst on Comcast Sportsnet and check out Tra's gym in Medford, http://www.7deucesports.com/