Earlier this week, longtime guard Joel Bitonio announced his retirement from the NFL. Although a fixture in the city of Cleveland for over a decade, a truly remarkable player and person, most NFL fans have never heard of him. Serving in unsung roles, big men often get overlooked. These mountains don’t make SportsCenter’s Top Ten or light up the stat sheet, even though their importance to their team can’t be overstated. While the big guys are often relegated to the background, Joel Bitonio’s story is anything but background noise.

 

Growing up in San Pedro, CA, immersed in basketball, track, and football, Bitonio was an all-around athlete. Tasked with guarding the likes of Kawhi Leonard and DeMar DeRozan meant developing quick lateral movement and a high level of spatial awareness and body control. These skills translated well to the football field and played a role in Bitonio’s success. Despite being a high school standout, Bitonio was only ranked a two-star recruit. Just days before signing day, he received an offer from the University of Nevada. Following his redshirt year, Bitonio proved that the rest of the country was wrong to overlook him. Developing into one of the top linemen in the nation, he finished his college career with thirty-nine straight starts. His senior year was special. In a campaign that included matchups against future first and second-round LBs Anthony Barr (UCLA) and Kyle Van Noy (BYU), Bitonio didn’t concede a single sack. This finish propelled him up draft boards and solidified former Browns GM Ray Farmer’s decision to select him thirty-fifth overall. From that day, Bitonio went on to become a legend in the city of Cleveland.

 

Of his many monikers, “Iron Man” fits the best. Over his twelve years as a Brown, Bitonio started every game he appeared in. Missing seventeen games in his second and third seasons, he went on to play every game for six straight years. Standing six-four and weighing in at three-hundred and twenty pounds, Bitonio was incredibly durable and as consistent as you can ask for at a position that demands it. Not only was his availability consistent, but so was his level of play. Starting in 2018, Bitonio was named to seven straight Pro Bowls and was selected as an All-Pro five times. For nearly a decade, the Italian-American maintained a standard of world-class play. 

 

The only trait that surpassed Bitonio’s consistency was his astonishing loyalty. Among Bitonio’s remarkable traits was his loyalty to a team and a city that would never offer the chance to achieve what every football player dreams of. His time in Cleveland was among the darkest eras in Browns football. He was there for a one-win season in ‘16. And the winless season that followed. “Iron Man” played under seven head coaches and protected twenty-two different quarterbacks. From Baker Mayfield to P.J Walker, the turnover at QB couldn’t have been farther from the Bitonio prototype. There were a total of two winning seasons during his tenure with Cleveland (‘20 and ‘23). Despite constant turmoil, Bitonio always returned. Signing three contracts, he agreed to spend his entire career in a place that didn’t deserve him. He was a pillar for the Browns and set a standard for the rest of the team. But he didn’t have to be. The question is, why? In an era when so many players jump ship to join a contending team, why did Bitonio stay?

 

The answer? It was never about chasing a ring or individual accolades (although they came anyway). When asked, following the last game of his final season, how he wanted his legacy in Cleveland to be remembered, Bitonio summarized his philosophy perfectly: "It's hard to put into words. I just tried to give it everything. You try to go out there and be the best version of yourself and help the team win. I try to do that every day. That's what I did.” Bitonio was never one for the outside noise. He didn’t feed into the offseason speculation or the gossip from talking heads. He knew he was brought to Cleveland for a reason. No matter what was going on with the rest of the team, Bitonio just put his head down and grinded. Control what you can control was his credo. 

 

The city of Cleveland fell in love with Bitonio and his work ethic. Known for his brutal honesty, Bitonio was never one to sugarcoat; his candid interviews often served as the best barometer for the team. There was no pretense for why the perennial Pro Bowler stayed in Cleveland. Bitonio never pretended he was in it to chase glory. He stuck around because he loved the city, the fans, and his team, and he wanted to help them by performing to the best of his ability. 

 

Joel Bitonio is among the last of a dying breed. With the advent of NIL and increasingly transactionalized results-driven agendas, college and pro sports have lost a lot of their magic - some would say all. Bitonio was one of the few remaining players who played the game in its purest form–a total sportsman who stood by his team and his city with unwavering loyalty. Let the future of the NFL be filled with more men like Joel Bitonio.