Joel Bitonio set to return to Browns in 2025, won't retire this offseason

Joel Bitonio isn't quite ready to hang up his cleats.

The two-time All-Pro left guard has decided to return to the Browns for the 2025 season.

Bitonio, 33, had been contemplating retirement. But Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reported Hall of Famer Joe Thomas advised him not to retire until he was absolutely positive of the decision.

Cleveland selected Bitonio in the second round of the 2014 draft and he immediately became a mainstay on the team’s offensive line. Bitonio has made the Pro Bowl in each of the last seven seasons. He was a second-team All-Pro three times before earning a first-team spot in 2021 and 2022.

The Browns have plenty to sort out in the 2025 offseason, but they will not need a new left guard.