The Cleveland Browns will have one of their stars back on the field next season.
All-Pro guard Joel Bitonio will return for a 12th season with the organization.
He announced it to put an end to all the speculation about his future, as he was admittedly mulling retirement.
That, per Mary Kay Cabot, is no small thing.
Talking to Ken Carman and Anthony Lima on 92.3 The Fan, the renowned Browns insider stated that Bitonio’s decision to return speaks volumes about the team’s plan for the offseason:
“I think (Bitonio returning) means a lot. He did sit down with the powers-that-be after the season and he did buy what they were selling…a lot of the selling has to do with getting that QB,” she said.
"I think (Bitonio returning) means a lot. He did sit down with the powers-that-be after the season and he did buy what they were selling…a lot of the selling has to do with getting that QB."
📞 @MaryKayCabot w/ @KenCarman & @SportsBoyTony
🔊 Listen: https://t.co/hhimzFO3m0 pic.twitter.com/OGpW8R6pM8
— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) March 6, 2025
She believes that Bitonio wouldn’t have decided to return if he thought the Browns would just go through the motions and mail in the season to secure a high pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Instead, she believes that Bitonio liked their plan to get a franchise quarterback in the offseason, and while the Myles Garrett trade saga still looms large, this might mean the team is heading in the right direction.
Bitonio has spent his entire career with the Browns.
They took him at No. 35 in the 2014 NFL Draft.
He had stated that he would take a couple of months before deciding whether to return in 2025 after playing a career-high 1,177 snaps last season.
The two-time All-Pro guard has had a Hall of Fame-caliber career, making 161 starts for the organization, and he’s just six starts away from tying the legendary Joe Thomas for the most in franchise history since the team was reinstated in 1999.
Barring a disaster or a shocking turn of events, that’s going to happen next season.
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