“I want to start by quickly talking about a random number. 10,363. It’s not too random, but that’s how many consecutive snaps I had during my career. And from my first snap as a rookie in 2007, to my last snap when I tore my triceps tendon, that’s how long this journey has been. That number, 10,363, is special to me in a lot of ways. And not just because it’s an NFL record, but because it shows that I was there for my brothers 10,363 times in a row. They could count on me.”
“To my best friends growing up, Steve Johnson, you always kept me humble. You beat me out my senior year of high school for the offensive lineman of the year in the Greater Metro conference. Thanks for never letting me forget that. I guess I was just a harder worker than you in college because you ended up being a long snapper, and I’m standing up here with the gold jacket. I’ll let you buy me a beer later.”
“To my six NFL head coaches, I know, six, can you believe it? I had nine offensive coordinators in only 11 years. Romeo Crennel, Eric Mangini, Pat Shurmur, Rod Chudzinski, Mike Pettine, Hue Jackson. Each one of you guys gave me something on the field and off the field that I’ve taken with me, and will take with me the rest of my life. To my quarterbacks, all of them. 20! Yes, I blocked for more different starting quarterbacks than any player in NFL history. What an honor. No matter who was back or what our circumstances were, which sometimes were tough — some of them were your fault, I’m not going to lie — but I won’t call out which ones. You guys still laid it all out on the line for your team. And that was always very special to me.”
“To Jimmy and Dee Haslam, and to the Whitney and JW Johnson family, you guys have built a first-class organization in Cleveland. And the success is right around the corner, and I cannot wait to be the biggest fan when it comes. Your investment in Cleveland and all of Ohio has made us Browns players fall in love with this city and with this great team and this historic franchise.”
“To Browns fans, the most loyal group of people I know. And I don’t think it’s gonna be argued by anybody. … In Cleveland, even if we were losing, you guys were there on Sundays barking in the Dawg Pound. You guys are the heartbeat of the Cleveland Browns, and it was truly my honor to be able to represent you on and off the field for 11 seasons.”
“It is the greatest honor of my career to be able to accept this lifetime award on behalf of all of Browns nation. Cleveland, you could always count on me. Thank you so much for allowing me to count on you. Don’t forget to keep showing up for each other. God bless the Cleveland Browns, God bless America and God bless football, the greatest game of all. Thank you.”