After 12 years of elite football and even better sportsmanship, Cleveland Browns guard Joel Bitonio hung up the cleats. As expected, the legendary left guard announced his retirement from the game after not returning in free agency.
Bitonio spent his entire career in Northeast Ohio. The Browns took him out of Nevada with the No. 35 pick and moved him from tackle to guard, and the rest is history. However, he wasn't the only promising prospect they rolled the dice on in 2014.
As he recalled in his retirement press conference, Bitonio entered the league with the now-infamous Johnny Manziel. In full legendary fashion, he made sure to poke some fun at his former teammate and Browns foe:
“I was drafted the same year as Johnny Manziel,” Bitonio said (h/t Ari Meirov). “And we actually roomed together. I learned some things not to do from him.”
Joel Bitonio's farewell is another indictment of Johnny Manziel's career
Of course, Bitonio has always been a class act, so chances are he was just taking a friendly shot at his former teammate. Then again, after everything Manziel has said about his time in Cleveland and how he's blamed the city and the organization for his irresponsibility and immaturity, that was just the best send-off.
Manziel was out of the league three years after the draft, leaving a 2-6 record, a 57.8 completion percentage, seven touchdowns, and five interceptions behind him. The Browns ignored all the red flags, and he never took his career seriously or had any accountability for what went wrong; he blamed the team instead.
Bitonio, on the other hand, went on to play for another decade. He made 178 regular-season starts for the Browns, logged five All-Pro selections (two first-team, three second-team), and made it to seven Pro Bowls. He went down as one of the greatest players in franchise history, a future Hall of Famer, and the polar opposite of what Manziel represented.
He was an example of hard work, leadership, and accountability. He battled through bumps and bruises and never wavered in his desire to leave this franchise on the mountaintop, regardless of the record, coach, or supporting cast. Of course, it would've been nice to see him walk away as a champion, but he never complained through the tough times.
Plenty has transpired in Cleveland since that 2014 NFL Draft, but Bitonio's career was good enough to make the fans forget all about that disgraced No. 22 pick. Until the end of time, Browns fans will remember that class as the Joel Bitonio class; no one will even remember "Johnny Football" 15 years from now.
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