G Joel Bitonio (6.9.26)
Jimmy Haslam:
“Hello, everybody. Thank you for coming today. It is a really special day for the Cleveland Browns and our organization. I’ll have to admit, for the organization, Joel, it’s a little bittersweet. I think Joel Bitonio embodies everything any team, but particularly the Cleveland Browns, would value. I would argue very strongly that he’s a Hall of Fame player, and when you look at what he achieved here, it compares very favorably to names like Jim Brown and Joe Thomas and Lou Groza in terms of quality of play, games played, etc. We’re excited for him and Courtney and their three little ones who are over here, all appropriately adorned in 75 jerseys, and they’ll have their dad back full time. Their dad has already slimmed down. He said he’s not quite as slim as Joe Thomas, but he’s headed in that direction, and his body feels better. We’re also delighted, at least for a year, Courtney, and maybe longer, that y’all are going to stay in the Cleveland area, and obviously you will always be a Cleveland Brown, but it helps when you live here. So, we’re delighted about that. I think we’d be remiss if we didn’t comment on and go through what all Joel (Bitonio) accomplished in his career. As you all know, he was a second-round pick out of Nevada 12 years ago and immediately stepped in and started right next to Joe Thomas, between Joe Thomas and Alex Mack. So that was a good place to start, Joel. Early on he (Joel Bitonio) had a foot injury, and I remember we were debating whether to extend him or not and if he could stay healthy or not, and we obviously decided to extend him, and I don’t think you ever missed a game again. Joel had 178 career starts in his career; that’s up there with Joe Thomas and Jim Brown. The most impressive thing, and I think you all know the difference, is that Joel made five All-Pro teams, and that’s different than making the Pro Bowl. When you make the All-Pro team, and twice he made the first team, that means he was one of the best one or two guards in the whole league. He did that twice; three other times he made the second team. He made seven consecutive Pro Bowl teams. The only people to do that in our organization are the names I mentioned earlier: Jim Brown, Joe Thomas, and Lou Groza. He (Joel Bitionio) was a model of consistency, and I hardly ever remember Joel having a bad game. He did what I think you ask everybody to do in any organization, and that is come to work, work hard, do your job, be a good team player, go home, spend time with your family, and come back and do it again. He did that for 12 years. When players aren’t in the building, there’s a little bit of a tendency to forget about him, and when he and Courtney and the three kids got out of the car today, I thought, ‘Dang, I miss that guy, because Joel was so reliable and showed up so often.’ I just want to emphasize I hope we can find more players in the future who are as good of players and as good of people as Joel Bitonio, because he embodies everything we want a Cleveland Brown to do.”
Joel Bitonio:
“I know it’s a little short notice for some people. Surprisingly, it’s been in the works for, you know, a little while, getting everybody’s schedule on page and stuff like that. It took us a little while, but I appreciate the kind words, Mr. and Mrs. Haslam. Everything you guys have done for me and my family, you know, it is like family here, and I appreciate that. It’s just an emotional time, because it’s what I’ve done, you know; my whole adult life has been here and been a Cleveland Brown, so it’s a big moment. When I reflect on my time as a Cleveland Brown, I’m so grateful I’ve learned so much. After I was drafted, I had the unique experience of playing left guard in between 10-time Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Thomas and seven-time Pro Bowl center Alex Mack. What a way to learn how to be a pro in the NFL. I saw firsthand their toughness and their ability to play through injuries. The importance of being there for your teammates. I took that with me and did my best to instill that in my teammates later in my career. I sat next to John Greco in meetings, and he taught me how to be a pro, take notes the right way, and play guard in the NFL. I was drafted the same year as Johnny Manziel, and we actually roomed together. I learned some things not to do from him. I got the opportunity to play with and learn from so many guys. I learned how to be egoless from Nick Chubb. I learned to always smile like Christian Kirksey. I learned to ‘chief slam’ from David Njoku. I learned how to be fiery and competitive from Baker. I learned selflessness from all my offense linemen brethren. There are truly too many to name, and the O-line is just such a special group. A special shoutout to Mitch Schwartz, Wyatt Teller, Ethan Pocic, Jack Conklin, Kevin Zeitler, and the countless others. It was an honor to share the meeting room and the field with you men. I learned how to be detail-oriented and always show up on game day for your teammates. Even if you didn’t practice all week or ever from JC Tretter. I got to experience Pro Bowls with guys like Jarvis Landry, Denzel Ward, Amari Cooper, Myles Garrett, JOK (Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah), and Jerry Jeudy. I learned the feeling of pride that comes with representing this organization among greats in the NFL. That’s a feeling that never got old. I learned about the people behind the scenes who help get the team ready for Sundays. The people in the building helped make this place so special. Joe, Pat, Stef, and the training staff who would get me from barely being able to get out of my car on a Monday to ready to play on Sundays. Larry Jackson, his strength staff, for the countless hours in the weight room, including Dale Jones, for going above and beyond the second half of my career to help extend it. We always have our Friday morning lifts. Brad, Corey, Jimmy, and the equipment staff are always there with any request, the cafeteria staff kept us fed; and the PR staff, including my guy Murph, who from day one had me ready for any questions the media threw at me. I learned about the Cleveland media and the seriousness of how they approached their jobs. I learned to just answer their questions as honestly as I could, because it ultimately helped make the fans more interested. I learned just how hard it is to win in the NFL and how special the locker room is after those wins. Those are the moments I will never forget. I will always remember our Thursday night win against the Jets to open the fridges. I learned about serving the community as athletes, we have a platform and have the opportunity to make a real difference for people. Giving back was something that my parents instilled in me. Those interactions with Browns Give Back, A Kid Again, and the Cleveland Food Bank meant a lot to the kids and the people who we were able to help, but they also meant a lot to me too. I encourage everyone to give back. I learned about sacrifice and love from my wife, Courtney, my kids, Zoey, Benny, and Ada. I love you guys so much. Courtney has been on this journey with me since college and was truly the heartbeat of my career, through the injuries, the wins, and the losses, always there, always supportive, and always my biggest fan. I learned how to compete and always try to win, even if it was racing to the car for my brother and sister. I learned true strength and love from my mom. Sometimes love is letting you know you shouldn’t have false started in the second quarter. I learned self-belief and hard work from my dad, who never got to see me play snap in college or the NFL but was with me every step of the way. He believed in me and my dreams before I knew what they were. He would tell me, ‘Why not you?’ Whenever I brought up how hard it was to make it in college or the NFL, so if he’s listening right now, I just wanted to let him know we made it. I learned how to be appreciative. Thank you to the Haslam family, to all my teammates, to the coaches, to Andrew Berry, to anyone who believed in me, and to the fans who supported us. Thank you to everyone I was able to learn from. I learned to appreciate everyone who helped me on this amazing journey. I learned what an honor and a privilege it is to wear that orange helmet and what this team means to the fans. I learned how hard it is to say goodbye. I had a good idea back in January that this was the end for me, but this place is so special that it was hard to truly say goodbye. I’m so glad I got to learn and be a Cleveland Brown my entire career. Thank you.”
Why was it so important for you to stay here to finish your career here, even through all the losing and the hard times and the coaches and quarterbacks?
“Yeah, I was always appreciative of the team drafting you. I got picked in the second round, and I played here, and early in my career, they trusted me. Even though I know I had injuries, Mr. Haslam said, there was a question, and I wanted to always prove him right, and by the time we got things rolling, we made the playoffs, and we’re having these runs. I was kind of in, you know, years seven, eight, and nine in my career, and, by that point, you’re so committed; you put in so much work here. I was ready to see it through, and I was ready to see the ultimate goal was to win a Super Bowl, and that was my goal here, but once you, once you get through it for me, I could never just picture myself in a different uniform.”
Were there overtures made to you from other teams?
“Never anything serious. I know my agent talked to a bunch of teams during the combine and everything, and people asked if I was interested in continuing to play, like what my plan was, but there was never anything where I was telling people I wanted to play for another team.”
Joel, what made you decide to retire now?
“Well, like I said a little bit earlier, the decision was made; Andrew Berry and I had a conversation before free agency. I think we signed like three interior linemen on the first day of free agency; me and AB (Andrew Berry) had already discussed that I was, you know, going to retire, and I was finishing up my career. It was really just the timing of the announcement. I talked to my agent, and he’s like, I mean, technically you don’t say anything, like you’re retired, and he’s like, I’ve been playing football for 23 years of my life and here for 12 years, and you just want to make sure it’s done. I never wanted to be the guy that was like, All right, I’m done playing but now I want to go make another run at it, and come back and unretire. For me, it was just, hey, we want to have a finite decision, but we were in constant communication with the team, and I appreciate them understanding, and you know, I’m sure AB (Andrew Berry) had to answer a few questions that he knew the answer to, but I appreciate that.”
Football’s been your life for the last 12 years; have you thought about what the next chapter is? I mean, what does the next chapter hold for you and what do you want to do?
“Not exactly, spend some time with the family; they are ready and eager, and I want to be there for them and enjoy some of the holidays. You miss parts of Thanksgiving and Christmas, and in those things, I think all that stuff will be very cool, but for me, on like a professional level, I haven’t really dove into, you know, exactly what I want to do.”
When the Browns finally made the playoffs with you playing, it was the COVID game. You had to miss the Pittsburgh game; you had to sweat that out for them to win to see your first playoff game. What was that game like for you watching it?
“Yeah, thank goodness it was a route, like the Browns kicked some butt. After the first snap, I was just like, all right, we, you know, we got a chance here. You don’t know; I mean, we’re missing Denzel (Ward) and there were a lot of guys that were out, and Coach (Kevin) Stefanski, but being a fan is brutal. I was definitely sweating, and, and it was unbelievable that my neighborhood, knew I was at home, and they started lighting off fireworks after the game, and they threw, a little parade down the street, so it was an unbelievable experience because, you know, we got the win. I think it would have been heart-wrenching if you’re sitting there and the team loses.”
Joel, you said in that letter you wrote this morning that you’ve never been here before they drafted you, and you didn’t come out and visit, so why do you think you made such a connection with this community and this fan base? And as quickly as you did with them throughout your 12 years?
“Yeah, I am from Southern California, but I think if you look at my background and family, it’s based off of blue-collar hard work, and I think at heart, there’s some Midwest in there, and you come to Cleveland, and the people here accept you, and like I said, I got to play next to Joe (Thomas) and Alex (Mack) and Greg (Robinson) and (Mitch) Schwartz, and they just showed me what it was like to be a pro. I think I wanted to throw myself in it 100% and I was committed, and I was like, hey, I want to be the best version of myself, which is hopefully in turn going to help the team, and so that was really kind of my mindset. Then once you connect with the community, and you have all your kids here, and they go to school, and you’re part of it, so you’re rooting for it too, and we’ll always be fans, you know, of the Browns and the community and the people, and our neighbors, it’s just a special place for us. “
What do you miss most about being a Browns player?
“I think it’s the people you walk into the building, and I’ve been here with, players come and go, right, but they’re the people in there, the locker room, the celebrations after the wins, or there’s nothing, because you put so much work, and you only have 17 opportunities a year, and so every time we got to win, I celebrated fully, because, I went so long at parts of my career where we weren’t winning consistently, but it’s the people you work with, the training staff, the strength staff, the EQ staff, the heads of those departments were interns when I got here, and now they’re running the departments, and so I feel like we grew up together, and like those are your people that you see on a daily basis, and they know the work that goes behind it. There were times where it was like I’m not walking on Monday and Tuesday, and it’s like, are we going to find a way to play. You have to have those people that you connect with and then help push you through those moments.”
You talked so much over your career about just Joe, what he’s meant to you, how he passed things on to you, and others who have passed things on to you. I know it’s a lot of young, a lot of new on this roster, but as you sort of leave what’s maybe the thing that you hope you left your mark on for the sort of new generation players that coded,
“I think it’s just consistency, being who you are each and every day, and it’s a business, right? Like, the NFL is such a business, but I think if you peel it back and you’re the best version of yourself and you give everything you can in the moment every day, and you have a bunch of guys that want to do that, it builds up the culture and it builds up what the team is and who they want to be, and so if people just see that, like, hey, that guy came to work, win or loss, he was who he is, and he put in the work and was ready on Sundays to give his best, to me, I think that’s how you build a culture of winning.”
How were you able to maintain such a positive attitude week in, week out, year in, year out, through all the losing. I remember Joe Thomas saying that it really got to him emotionally but, you just seemed like you were always there with a smile on your face, and you kept the locker room up and fans up and gave everyone some hope. How did you do that?
“Yeah, losing is not easy; everybody plays the game to win the game, but I feel like I woke up in the mornings and I was like, I’m playing in the National Football League for the Cleveland Browns, and I get to go to work, and I’m healthy, and I’m playing in these games, and so that was special. It’s like what you dream of as a kid, and you’re living your dream, and like, I do think positive vibes are contagious. If you’re a positive person, hopefully that rubs off on some people, but to me, it was like I was living a dream every day that I got to come in this building and be a part of it. The ultimate goal was to try and lift a Super Bowl [trophy], and that’s why I tell people, the best moments were going to those playoffs because we were getting closer, and you wanted more of those moments, but those wins and those locker rooms made up for all the tough days you had.”
I want to speak for the group for a second and say we appreciate all the times in the quiet, empty locker room that you’ve stayed and answered questions. I think one in particular, the walk back to the press box in New Orleans in 24 we’re like, this guy can’t ever retire, we need it. But is that something that came natural to you? And why was it important for you to always step up and do that?
“Yeah, I think for me, our PR team, Dan (Murphy) and PJB (Peter John-Baptiste), always made it a point. It’s your guys’ job to obviously tell a story about what happened; it’s our job to give you guys information to help write that story, but if we can control the narrative in the sense of, hey, I was out there, I experienced it, I played the game, and if there is something I need to take blame for, I can, you know what I mean, and I’m not passing blame to anybody else. With this Twitter (X) and Instagram world, the longer you take not to answer a question, the more it goes. I mean, even just like in this retirement, there were crazy stories about if I was going to play somewhere or not, and we just kind of kept it quiet. There’s just so many moments where I played in the game; I’m a captain of this team, I can talk to the media, and I can answer the questions.”
In the last two years in particular, I know you had like some nagging injuries going on the back in particular that we talked to you about all the time, but you know, through that and the combined eight wins over those two years, how important was it for you to play in all those games that you did, and is that something you look back on without regret now?
“Yeah, there was never regret in the game I played in, but I wanted to be there. There were a couple times, especially I think this last year, where it was close and I was, I was uncertain. I was like, I’m at a point now, like, I’m out there, I can move a little bit, and it might have been the wrong mindset for me, but, like, I was like, Joel, being out there at 70% or 60% is good enough for me, and I’m gonna go out there and try and compete, and so that was kind of my mindset. The win/loss thing, it was always just a personal opinion, and I talked to the training staff about it. I was like, we make decisions on Monday if we’re going to play or not, and it’s not true, but just the mindset you have, right? You walk in like, hey, this what you got going on, and it’s like, alright, well, I got to figure out a way to play, and so that’s the mindset switches when you walk in the door on Monday, and I just always tried to have that mindset, but the win-losses to me it was just that’s who I am as a person, you can’t change who you are, you know, winning or losing, and that’s kind of just the way I stuck through it.”
Andrew and Joe Thomas mentioned you with the Hall of Fame, like how do you view your candidacy, and how important would that be?
“I mean, it’d be unbelievable, important. It’s like the pinnacle of, like, the individual achievement of a football player. I never had a goal to be a gold jacket guy. I just wanted to go out and be the best I could. It’s my yearly appointment that there are not enough guards and centers in the Hall of Fame. I think if you look at it, there are so many elite players, and if you look at Pro Bowls and All-Pros compared to quarterbacks, I know there’s different importance on positions, but receivers, tight ends, like any other position group, if you look at the actual accolades of players, there need to be more guards and centers in the Hall of Fame. I think that’s a barrier, just being a guard, but I think if you want to look at consistency and you want to look at longevity and the history of the franchise and some of the names that you know Mr. Haslam mentioned today, I’m proud of my career, and I would love, like I said, to be in the Hall of Fame someday, but I don’t need it to like any personal thing like that, I’m happy with I’ve done, and, and I’m proud of that.”
You played with 24 different quarterbacks; that’s even more than Joe (Thomas). For any particular reason. Is there a favorite that you’ll remember?
“In those moments, I mean, it was great, like my rookie year, having Hoyer back there; that was a heck of a run when we were, you know, seven and four, and I didn’t know any better, but I was just like, alright, this is the NFL, we’re flying around let’s do this. That was great. Obviously, you know, Josh McAllen was just like, so wise when he was back there. It was fun to play with him. Baker obviously changed our directory of our franchise there and led us to the playoffs, and that was unbelievable, and some of the coolest moments of my career were that season, even though it was COVID, but making that run was awesome, and then you bring in Joe Flacco, you hear these stories, you play against him a bunch of times, then you meet him as a person, you’re like, alright, this guy’s a pretty cool guy, and so I mean, you take something from everybody you play with, right? I think those were kind of like just certain points of a career when we were winning the most games, and that’s when the best memories usually come from.”
Your family you mentioned a couple times, so I want to just ask you, like, when you’re making your decision, how much of it was it about it’s the right time for you, but also for Courtney and the kids?
“Yeah, I mean, Courtney’s so supportive, and I’m sure she would tell you she wants me at home more, but I guarantee if I were like, ‘Hey, I wanted to play another season,’ she would be 100% supportive of that decision. But it’s great. I mean, I don’t have to tell the kids I can’t wrestle because my back’s hurting or something like that, so we should have some more free time, but it’s a part of it, but truthfully, the decision came down to my body. Am I going to be able to prep the way I wanted to prep to be able to perform at the level I wanted to perform at?
What would you be doing if you didn’t play football?
“I went to school for economics, but I don’t know; I might have coached if I had just played in college. I enjoy the game. I love football and the scheme and all that stuff, but I didn’t have a right-away backup plan. I did some architectural stuff in high school that I really enjoyed. Nevada did not have an architecture program, but, yeah, I don’t know. It would be interesting.”
What do you think the next couple months are going to be like, knowing you don’t have to prepare for a training camp?
“I was telling my wife the other day that, like, it still kind of feels like an offseason right now. Like, I’ve still been working out, but I’m obviously not training as much, not at mini-camp right now, but I think when training camp starts is going to be the real moment, like, ‘Okay, I’m retired from this,’ because that’s when you know, so end of July, August, and September, when everything really cranks up. So we’ll see how it feels, and I’m sure there are emotions going in there. I tell you what, the stress of getting ready for a game and wanting to perform at your best. I don’t know if I’ll miss that. You know, even going into year 12, like every night before the game, you’re stressed about your assignment, and as an offensive lineman, you’re protecting people out there, and so you want to play your best and be the best version of yourself.”
Obviously you know we’ll all share our memories of you, but just in your own words, how would you like to be remembered?
“Yeah, I poured myself into it. I was 100% committed to this, this team and this organization, and I truly always wanted to be the best version of myself to help make the team as good as we could be, and that’s what I pushed for. That’s what I hope people remember: this guy was tough, he was going to be out there, he was going to fight for his teammates, and it was just a consistent guy.”
It’s a really tough act trying to follow Joe Thomas, just in terms of voice of the team, face of the team, spokesperson, anchor of the line, and all of those things. Did you feel a tremendous amount of responsibility when Joe passed through that torch? And how do you feel like you handled it?
“I mean, Joe Thomas is obviously one of the best left tackles in the game. He was a great leader and a great spokesperson. I think it helped me because I saw him do it at such a high level that I was like, alright, I got to step into those (shoes), and I would never compare myself to what he did, but just step in and be like someone needs to do that for the team, and kind of be a part of it. So, it’s never a pressure thing, but I did think it helped and kind of showed a way of how, even if the season doesn’t go great, you can still be a professional and handle your job.”
When you had those injuries early in your career, you know, two straight years ending IR, did you ever kind of wonder, like, what this would be, and did it make it more meaningful, to kind of have that Iron Man streak?
“Yeah, I had really never been injured in my career, like I never missed any college games or any high school games. When I was missing games, I was like, this is weird, and I was playing next to Joe Thomas, who never missed games, and Alex Mack, who for a majority of his career had not missed a game, and so I was like, man, this is weird. In the back of my mind I always like, it’s unlucky, like I got rolled up on twice, and I got stepped on, like that’s how my injuries occurred. But at some point, like in the back of your mind, you’re like, is this part of it and what do I need to do differently? I think once we got on a roll there, and it was like seven years without missing a snap, I was like, alright, I think there is some luck to this, you know, part of it, and I’m just gonna go out there and do my thing. I definitely was questioning a little bit of injury luck and what was going on, but I think the Browns also having confidence in me and still extending me and being in that position to be like, we want this guy around gave me some confidence as well.”
Your agent filled in some calls from other teams, and you mentioned your conversations with Andrew (Berry), and where you kind of made your intentions known. Did you have any conversations with Todd George Warhop, and if so, how much did they try to sell you on coming back? What was their sort of pitch to you?
Yeah, I went up and met him, because I had a little elbow clean up, and I was rehabbing my elbow, so when they got hired, I went up there. I mean, I know Coach Monken from when he coached here, obviously. I’ve only heard good things about George Warhol, like from Joe (Thomas) and Alex (Mack) and Mitch (Schwartz), they all love him as an O-line coach. So I went up and talked to him, and they were pretty clear. They’re like, ‘Hey, we want you back if you want to play football.’ So it was very cut and dry, but he’s like, we want you in the room if you can do it, and Coach Monken talked about the Baltimore game, where I chased down that interception, and he’s like, even though you guys were losing and stuff, and he’s just like, we want those type of people in the building, and so it was just an open communication of, hey, we would like you back if you want to keep playing, but definitely they understood where I was coming from on my decision.”
Joel is there a specific opposing player that you’ve gone against that maybe you’re going to remember most?
“I mean, you think about like the AFC North guys, right? Like Cam Hayward, he was probably in year three when I got in the league, and he’s still playing football, so we battled over 20 times, and he predominately lines up over the left guard and left tackle, so that’s one. I mean, early in my career, Geno Atkins was a headache, like you know, Aaron Donald is in a class of his own, but Geno Atkins was like the mini version of that, and he was unbelievable. So, I think those two, from a north comparison, would be the two.”
Sticking around here for a year. I think that says a lot about how you feel about the city of Cleveland and how you, I’m guessing, were embraced here. So, what makes this so special, and you know, how much does this really end up getting like home to you?
“Yeah, it’s a big part, 12 years is a long time, right? I’m like, alright, I moved out of the house at 17 to go to college, I’m like, I’m almost there in Cleveland. It’s a big part, and part of football is you kind of miss the whole fall and the Christmas time and stuff, and we were like, let’s enjoy some time here and be a fan and be a Cleveland person. We live in Avon, but it’s just a small town feel, you know what I mean, in that, and you don’t get that vibe necessarily back in California all the time. So we wanted to enjoy it and be a fan of the Browns, but it’s a huge part of it, like I said, this will always be part of our family, our kids are all born in Cleveland, and that’s a huge thing. I proposed in Cleveland, so it’s going to be a huge part of our life, and you know, we’ll drive by and be like, oh, that was, our house someday, but we’re going to enjoy it. You can’t beat this weather the last two and a half weeks, right? This is like Cali weather; it got humid for minicamp, of course.”
Will it be weird watching Browns games on TV?
“Yeah, it will be at the start for sure. I’m used to being out there and playing, but I’ll be cheering them on.”
What do you see in the player perspective of this team as you depart?
“Yeah, I’m still in communication with a lot of the guys, and I think Coach Monken is building that culture. There are a lot of young talented players that are going to step into those leadership roles and keep performing, but I think they’re working very hard from what I’ve heard and seen. Lots of plays in practice, but that’s how you get better. Sometimes when you have an old team, it’s hard to practice hard; not all the guys are able to, but when you’re young, it’s run the ball out and get as many reps as we can. So I think they’re building that culture, and I have nothing but respect for the coaching staff. None of that was part of the decision; it was strictly a physical thing, but I think there is a culture here, and I think the young talent that has been acquired over the last couple years is impressive, and I’m looking forward to the future.”
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