Joel Michael Bitonio (born October 11, 1991) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Nevada Wolf Pack The Nevada Wolf Pack are the athletic teams that represent the University of Nevada, Reno. They are part of NCAA's Division I's Mountain West Conference. It was founded on October 24, 1896 with football as the Sagebrushers in Reno, Nevada. H ...

and was selected by the Browns in the second round of the

2014 NFL draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...

. During his NFL career, Bitonio has been named to seven

Pro Bowls The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed throughou ...

, two first-team and three second-team

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

teams.

Early life

Bitonio attended Long Beach Wilson High School in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

, where he was a three-sport star. He was named to the '' Press Telegrams Dream Team for football and basketball as a senior. In

, he was a two-time All-league selection and was the Moore League Lineman of the Year. He was a first-team All-conference selection and was named second-team All-state by '' MaxPreps.com''. Bitonio also lettered in

track & field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and ...

as a senior. He led the league in the

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

, recording a top-throw of 15.39 meters at the 2009 CIF Southern Section Division 1 Prelims.

College career

Bitonio attended the

University of Nevada The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a public land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada, United States. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant institution. It was founded ...

from 2009 to 2013. He started 39 consecutive games from his

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

sophomore to senior seasons. As a senior, he was an All-

Mountain West Conference The Mountain West Conference (MW) is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States, participating in NCAA Division I. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The MW officially began operations on Ja ...

selection.

Professional career

Bitonio was considered one of the top offensive tackle prospects for the

. He was selected by the

in the second round (35th overall) of the 2014 NFL draft. He was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team. On December 7, 2015, Bitonio was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

. On October 14, 2016, Bitonio was again placed on injured reserve after sustaining a foot injury in Week 5. On March 9, 2017, Bitonio signed a five-year contract extension with the Browns through the 2022 season. He was named to his first

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

and was named second-team

after starting all 16 games at left guard. Bitonio was named to the

2020 All-Pro Team The 2020 All-Pro teams were named by the Associated Press (AP), Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA), and ''Sporting News'' (SN) for performance in the 2020 NFL season. Any player selected to the first-team of any of the teams can be described ...

, along with three of his teammates: defensive end

Myles Garrett Myles Lorenz Garrett (born December 29, 1995) is an American professional football defensive end for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas A&M Aggies, receiving unanimous All-American ...

, tackle

Jack Conklin Jonathan Jackson Conklin (born August 17, 1994) is an American professional football offensive tackle for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan State Spartans. Early life Conkli ...

, and fellow guard Wyatt Teller. Bitonio was placed on the reserve/

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

list by the team on January 5, 2021, and activated on January 15. On November 10, 2021, Bitonio signed a three-year, $48 million contract extension through the 2025 season.

Personal life

His father, Mike Bitonio, was a

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

fighter. He died at the age of 45 in 2010.Wolf Pack's Joel Bitonio uses father's inspiration to become a dominant player
/ref>

References

External links

Cleveland Browns bio

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bitonio, Joel 1991 births Living people American football offensive tackles American football offensive guards Cleveland Browns players Nevada Wolf Pack football players People from San Pedro, Los Angeles Players of American football from Long Beach, California American Conference Pro Bowl players Wilson Classical High School alumni