Joel Bitonio has lived quite a football life. It might be nearing an end.
The Cleveland Browns guard remains undecided on whether he'll play in 2025, telling reporters Saturday he's "still working through" the matter as March approaches.
"It's a little bit of a roller coaster going one way, going the other way. It's not easy," Bitonio said, via BrownsZone with Scott Petrak.
Though he's played in 15 or more games in every season since an injury-shortened 2016 campaign, Bitonio certainly hasn't avoided the bug, playing through a number of ailments over the years. He even admitted the toll on his body on Saturday: "I don't know if my knee and elbow and shoulder are all going to get 100 percent in the offseason, ever. But you're feeling better from the season."
Bitonio's responses sound somewhat similar to how former Eagles center Jason Kelce spoke of his body during his penultimate season in 2023, when he detailed his reliance on anti-inflammatory medication in order to feel well enough to perform. It's not uncommon for offensive linemen, who take an immense amount of punishment while playing the most physical position in the game. And how Bitonio feels will impact his decision, he said.
So too will the Browns' standing entering 2025. Cleveland's massively disappointing 2024 campaign drained confidence from their fanbase and even some players, most notably Myles Garrett, who has requested a trade and has been very open about his desire to play for a contender.
"First and foremost, I would say 90 percent of my decision is based on how I feel personally: body-wise, family-wise, all those things," Bitonio said on Saturday. "But Joe Thomas got hurt his last season, but we also went 0-16 that last year. And you never want to go into the year and be like, oh, this is a total rebuild. So I can't say that it's not part of an equation.
"I don't know how much it is, but it's definitely part of it where you want to see, are we going to be competitive? So that's where you have faith in (general manager) Andrew Berry and Coach (Kevin) Stefanski and the Haslams to figure out a plan of attack and kind of go from there."
Bitonio elaborated on the matter regarding Garrett, expressing hope the superstar edge rusher and the Browns can find common ground. Garrett's future, however, will not impact Bitonio's decision, the guard said.
"I don't think his request is really going to impact my decision," Bitonio said. "I do understand he's frustrated. We were all frustrated this last year. It was disappointing. So I get that side of where Myles is coming from.
"Obviously we want Myles on the Cleveland Browns. He's the best pass rusher in the league. You don't want to get rid of a generational player like that. So we're hoping they can work things out. We want Myles to be a Cleveland Brown for a long time."
If Bitonio were to walk away this year, he's already compiled a career worthy of a place in the Browns' ring of honor. With seven Pro Bowl selections, two first-team All-Pro honors and 161 games played (all starts) in his career with the Browns, he'll forever be remembered as the second-round pick out of Nevada who quickly proved Cleveland right in selecting him and was nothing but reliably excellent throughout his career.
He'd also join a cast of stars from his draft class who have called it a career. Rams legend Aaron Donald walked away after the 2023 season, and Cowboys guard Zack Martin recently informed the team he intends to retire.
"You see these guys that are elite, obviously Hall of Fame players, and they're retiring," Bitonio said. "It's definitely in that realm of possibilities."
Bitonio said his decision will come soon, and he has confidence in the plan assembled by Berry and the rest of the Browns' front office, noting "it's not that much different of a team" from the squad that won 11 games and reached the playoffs in 2023.
We'll see if that plan includes Bitonio in 2025.
