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

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

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 ...

for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He was drafted 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 ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

. During his NFL career Bitonio has been named to five

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

, 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 th ...

teams.

Early years

Bitonio attended Long Beach Wilson High School in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

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

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

, 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 MaxPreps is an American website that specializes in coverage of American high school sports. The site is owned by Paramount Global and is a division of CBS Sports. Founded on August 1, 2002, the company has covered up to 29 sports, including b ...

''. Bitonio also lettered in

track & field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

as a senior. He led the league in the shot put, 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 university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant ...

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

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after b ...

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

Mountain West Conference The Mountain West Conference (MW) is one of the collegiate athletic conferences affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) (formerly I-A). The MW officially began operations o ...

selection.

Professional career

2014 season

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

. He was drafted by the

in the second round (35th overall) of the

2015 season

On December 7, 2015, Bitonio was placed on injured reserve.

2016 season

On October 14, 2016, Bitonio was again placed on injured reserve after sustaining a foot injury in Week 5.

2017 season

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 and was named second-team All-Pro after starting all 16 games at left guard.

2020 season

Bitonio was named to the 2020 NFL All-Pro Team, along with three of his teammates: defensive end

Myles Garrett Myles Lorenz Garrett (born December 29, 1995) is an American football defensive end for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Texas A&M, where he received unanimous All-American honors in 2016, ...

, tackle

Jack Conklin Jonathan Jackson Conklin (born August 17, 1994) is an American football offensive tackle for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Michigan State. Early years Conklin was born in Plainwell, M ...

, and fellow guard

Wyatt Teller Wyatt Teller (born November 21, 1994) is an American football guard for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Virginia Tech. College career After high school, Teller committed to play footb ...

. Bitonio was placed on the reserve/

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list by the team on January 5, 2021, and activated on January 15.

2021 season

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), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

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

{{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