Browns star LG Bitonio retires after 12 seasons
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Joel Bitonio announced his retirement after 12 NFL seasons, all with the Browns, who drafted him 35th overall in 2014; he was named to seven Pro Bowls, tied with Myles Garrett for the fourth-most in team history.
- Bitonio recorded 178 career starts, the most by any Browns player since the franchise returned to Cleveland in 1999, and was the team's longest-tenured player until his contract voided in March, making him an unrestricted free agent.
- Bitonio earned first-team All-Pro honors in 2021 and 2022, was the Browns' 2022 Walter Payton Man of the Year, and won the team's Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award twice (2018, 2023).
- Bitonio considered retiring last offseason but returned for 2025, ranking third among 65 qualifying guards in ESPN's pass block win rate and 16th of 62 in run block win rate.
- Cleveland aggressively retooled its offensive line this offseason under new head coach Todd Monken, trading for right tackle Tytus Howard, signing guards Zion Johnson and Elgton Jenkins, re-signing Teven Jenkins, and drafting left tackle Spencer Fano ninth overall in 2026.
Why it matters: Bitonio's exit removes the Browns' most durable presence from the 1999-era roster just as Cleveland overhauls its offensive line under new head coach Todd Monken, signing away more than $200M in guarantees across Howard, Johnson, and Jenkins while using the No. 9 pick on Fano to fill the left tackle vacancy.
