Seven-time Pro Bowl offensive guard Joel Bitonio announced his retirement on Tuesday, June 9, ending a 12-year Cleveland Browns career that included 102 straight starts and records that set him apart from franchise history.
On Tuesday, June 9, the message came in an open letter posted on the Browns’ website, and it landed with the weight of something final: Joel Bitonio was done.
Bitonio, 34, announced his retirement from the NFL after 12 seasons with the Cleveland Browns, the only franchise of his professional career. Cleveland selected him in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft, and he stayed through the full stretch after putting on an orange helmet for every chapter.
Between 2017 and 2023, Bitonio played 6,481 consecutive snaps on offense across 102 straight starts for the Browns at left guard. That streak wasn’t just durability—it was stability. During the 2025 season. he surpassed Hall of Fame offensive tackle Joe Thomas for the most career starts by a player for the Cleveland-based franchise since it returned in 1999.
Bitonio earned all seven of his Pro Bowl selections in consecutive seasons from 2018 to 2024. From 2018 to 2020, he was on the All-Pro second team three straight years. He was named a first-team All-Pro in 2021 and again in 2022.
He also explained why the ending had been coming, even if the announcement made it immediate. Bitonio was officially a free agent at the start of the new league year in March. but in his retirement announcement he said he was “fairly confident” the 2025 season would be his last. He wrote that his decision during free agency came down to either another contract with the Browns or retirement—and he chose the latter.
“Wearing that orange helmet and being part of this franchise – from getting drafted to signing three contracts – I felt a loyalty to the Browns. ” Bitonio wrote. He added that it gave him pride to represent “a fan base who is consistently loyal to us.” He said the job became something he wanted to finish in Cleveland: “I started the job here. and once I got to a certain point. I knew I wanted to finish the job in Cleveland.”.
To close, he turned directly to the people he’d played for all those years. “To the city of Cleveland, our loyal fanbase, the Haslam family and the entire Browns organization, thank you,” Bitonio wrote. “Thank you for 12 years of unwavering support and unforgettable memories.”
The sequence of numbers in his career tells one story—102 straight starts. 6. 481 consecutive snaps. seven Pro Bowls. and franchise record territory—but his letter frames the decision in something harder to quantify: loyalty. timing. and the choice to step away while he still had control over how the final chapter would read.
Joel Bitonio retirement Cleveland Browns NFL offseason offensive guard Pro Bowl 2014 NFL Draft Haslam family Joe Thomas record