The five-time All-Pro had contemplated retirement, but ultimately decided to return for what will be the final year of his current contract with the Browns.
CLEVELAND — One of the greatest offensive linemen in Browns history is sticking around for at least one more year.
Stalwart left guard Joel Bitonio will return for his 12th season in Cleveland, the team announced Wednesday. The 33-year-old had been contemplating retirement, but ultimately decided to come back for what will be the final year of his current contract.
A second-round pick in the 2014 draft, Bitonio has spent his entire NFL career with the Browns, placing himself among the longest-tenured players since the club returned to the league in 1999. The Nevada alum just made his seventh consecutive Pro Bowl and is also a five-time All-Pro selection, including back-to-back first-team honors in 2021 and ’22.
After Cleveland finished the 2024 campaign tied for the NFL’s worst record at 3-14, Bitonio would not commit to continuing as a player, telling reporters he wanted to “decompress and just feel it out and give myself a chance to rest the mind and the body and see where we’re at.” According to Mary Kay Cabot of 3News media partner Cleveland.com, it was Bitonio’s former teammate and Pro Football Hall of Famer Joe Thomas who persuaded him to come back, telling Bitonio “not to hang it up until he was absolutely sure, because there’s nothing in the real world that can replace the feeling of being on an NFL team.”
Much like Thomas before him, Bitonio has put together a resume that could one day land him in Canton. His seven Pro Bowls rank fourth in team history, and he has missed just three games since 2017.
During the 2021 season, Cleveland inked Bitonio to a four-year extension that is due to expire after 2025. Per Spotrac, he is scheduled to make more than $14 million this coming season, with the team paying him millions more over additional future void years.
Bitonio’s return provides some stability to a Browns offensive line that took several steps back in 2024, resulting in the firing of position coach Andy Dickerson after just one season in favor of Mike Bloomgren. The organization is also expected to part ways with free-agent left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr., a former first-round pick who in five years failed to establish himself on the blind side.