Joel Bitonio Retires at 34 After 12 Seasons With Browns, Will Enter Free Agency
The 34-year-old guard, a seven-time Pro Bowl selection, ends his career after playing every offensive snap in 2025 and 6,481 consecutive snaps from 2017 through 2023.
nypost.comJoel Bitonio announced his retirement from the NFL on Tuesday after 12 seasons spent entirely with the Cleveland Browns. Bitonio, 34, was drafted by the Browns in the second round in 2014 and became a seven-time Pro Bowl guard and two-time First-Team All-Pro. He anchored the Browns’ offensive line for more than a decade.
Bitonio played out the final year of his contract and enters retirement as a free agent. He credited former Browns offensive linemen Joe Thomas, Alex Mack, and Mitchell Schwartz for shaping his approach to the game. Bitonio said he learned early in his career that Thomas had not missed a snap in eight seasons, and that Mack and Schwartz had built similar streaks of durability.
“I made that my mindset,” he wrote. That standard produced 6,481 consecutive offensive snaps from the 2017 season through the 2023 season. Bitonio also played every offensive snap during the 2025 campaign.
A photograph shows Bitonio, wearing number 75, walking off the field before a game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Cincinnati. His 12-year Browns career ended in Cleveland.
