Browns Digest

Cleveland Browns' Pro Bowl Lineman Undecided on Retirement

The 11-year veteran is "leaning" a certain direction, but is still undecided.

Gavin Dorsey

Oct 13, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Cleveland Browns guard Joel Bitonio (75) against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
Oct 13, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Cleveland Browns guard Joel Bitonio (75) against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
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For more than a decade, Joel Bitonio has been a mainstay on the Cleveland Browns' offensive line.

Since the Browns selected Bitonio with the 35th pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, the veteran has started every game in a season eight times over his 11-year career. Bitonio has consistently been one of the best guards in the league, having made the Pro Bowl in each of the last seven seasons.

However, Bitonio's time in the NFL may soon be coming to an end. Now 33 years old, Bitonio has been mulling retirement.

Bitonio told reporters Saturday that he was undecided on whether or not to retire, but was leaning a certain way. However, he declined to share which direction that was. Bitonio said he would inform the Browns of his decision prior to free agency.

The longtime Cleveland guard is entering the final year of a three-year, $48 million extension that he signed in 2021. If Bitonio does return, he would have a cap hit of approximately $14.3 million.

Bitonio also said that Myles Garrett's trade request would not impact his decision, but he understands why the edge rusher is frustrated after Cleveland's 3-14 campaign last season.

If the Browns end up losing both Bitonio and Garrett, it would signal a new era for Cleveland, as the pair have been staples of the team for the larger part of the last decade.

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Gavin Dorsey
GAVIN DORSEY

Gavin Dorsey is the Lead Writer for Northwestern Wildcats On SI and assists in covering a handful of other teams in the On SI network, including the Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Guardians, Houston Texans and Ohio State Buckeyes. Before joining On SI in February 2025, he wrote for the Star Tribune and Inside NU while broadcasting college sports for both radio and television. Dorsey is a graduate of Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism, where he also studied psychology. In his free time, he enjoys running and being outdoors. Dorsey is currently a freelance writer for the Associated Press, covering Chicago area sports teams.

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