The Cleveland Browns entered the offseason with news just as bad as the 3-14 season that preceded it. Edge rusher Myles Garrett has publicly requested a trade, hoping to chase a championship in the second half of his career.
For a front office tasked with turning the team around, Garrett’s request is abominable. It represents a full rebuild and a confirmation that Cleveland is in fact farther away than virtually any team in the league.
As such, it has become increasingly clear that guard Joel Bitonio will not win a Super Bowl. He won’t be joining Garrett on the trade block, but he could be leaving town by calling it quits after 11 seasons in the NFL.
On Saturday, Bitonio revealed an update on his potential retirement and how Garrett’s trade situation plays into things.
“For me personally, I don’t think his request is really going to impact my decision,” Bitonio said, via Scott Petrak. “I do understand, he’s frustrated. I think we were all frustrated this last year. It was disappointing, we were all disappointed in how the season turned out. 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. He’s dynamic, he opens things up for our defense. And obviously our offense as well. So all those things, you don’t want to get rid of a generational player like that. So hoping they work things out, I don’t know the inner workings of everything that goes on behind closed doors.”
Bitonio is the longest-tenured Browns player (joined by long snapper Charley Hughlett) and is among the roster’s standouts. He’s made the Pro Bowl in each of the last seven seasons, earning two first-team All-Pro and three second-team All-Pro honors in the process.
He’s one of the best interior linemen in the sport, but entering his age-34 season on a non-competitive team doesn’t bode well for him sticking around. In the event he does return, he’ll be entering the last real deal of his contract, which is packed with void years after 2025.
If he does retire, fans will have one last contribution to thank him for—rooting for Garrett to stay in Cleveland for the foreseeable future.
“Like I said, for me it’s not going to affect my decision one way or the other. But we want Myles Garrett to be a Cleveland Brown for a long time.”
Anthony Licciardi is an experienced writer and editor who loves scouting and analytics. He graduated from Rutgers University’s School of Journalism and Media Studies.
