BIOGRAPHY
Joel Michael Bitonio was born on October 11, 1991, in San Pedro, California. He is a guard in the NFL. He was drafted by the Browns in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft and played college football at Nevada.
Bitonio attended Long Beach Wilson High School in Long Beach, California, 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, 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 and field 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. He was inducted into the Woodrow Wilson Classical High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2015.
During college, Bitonio appeared in 51 games at Nevada with 38 starts. He opened 26 games at right tackle before starting all 12 at left tackle as a senior. He was credited with allowing just two sacks on 821 pass attempts. In 2009 he redshirted his first season in the program but made the travel squad for the Sheraton Hawai`i Bowl. He won the Offense Full-Speed Effort and Habit Award as the Scout Team Player of the Year. In 2010, he emerged as a redshirt freshman to be a valuable reserve on the Union. Bitonio played throughout the regular season as a tackle and on some special teams, playing in all 14 games. By 2011, he stepped in and started all 13 games at one of the tackle positions for the Union, he was a key force in leading the way for the fifth-best offense in the nation and earned Basalite Big Blocker honors for his performance against UNLV. For the 2012 season, he emerged as the best offensive lineman on the team along with fellow tackle Jeff Nady. He was named honorable mention in 2012 All-Mountain West voting and earned three of the team Big Blocker Awards for best performance by a lineman in a victory (Northwestern State, Hawaii, Wyoming). He paved the way for the seventh-best rushing attack in the nation at 271.0 yards per game and the nation’s second-leading rusher in Stefphon Jefferson (144.85). He was part of a total offensive attack that was eighth in the nation at 514.85. He was also named to Preseason All-MW Second Team by College Football Madness and Preseason All-MW Third Team by Phil Steele. During his last collegiate year in 2013, he was one of the top offensive linemen in the Mountain West. He started 26 consecutive games entering his senior season. He was named preseason All-Mountain West second team by Phil Steele and also named to the preseason All-Mountain West second team by Athlon.
During the 2014 season, he was voted to the PFWA All-AFC team, the only offensive rookie selected to the team, and was also named to the PFWA All-Rookie team. He started all 16 games at LG, playing every offensive snap. Bitonio helped the Browns record 17 rushing touchdowns, the fourth-most in the NFL, and rush for more than 150 yards in five games. He made his NFL debut on September 7 vs. Pittsburg, helping the team rush for 183 yards (the most since 2010) and two TDs. In 2015, he started all 10 games played and missed six games due to an ankle injury. By 2016, Bitonio started at LG and played every offensive snap in the first five games, helping the Browns finish second in NFL with a 4.89 rush average, the highest by Cleveland since 1966. In the 2017 season, he started at LG and played every offensive snap in all 16 games after rehabbing from Lisfranc surgery that ended his 2016 season. He helped the Browns finish sixth in the league with a 4.46 rush average. He was voted the PFWA Dino Lucarelli Good Guy award winner.
In the 2018 season, he was named to his first career Pro Bowl, made second-team All-Pro selection, and was voted captain by teammates. He started at LG in all 16 games, playing every offensive snap. He protected QB Baker Mayfield, who set an NFL rookie record with 27 touchdown passes and opened holes for RB Nick Chubb, who set a Brown's rookie record with 996 rushing yards. Bitonio was voted the PFWA Dino Lucarelli Good Guy award winner for the second consecutive season. He was named Browns 2018 Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award winner.
In 2023 he was named to his 6th Pro Bowl.
Bitonio volunteered for numerous community opportunities in the Cleveland area, including stuffing USO care packages and deployment bags for service members, visiting elementary schools, and supporting the Greater Cleveland Food Bank. He hosted a ‘Shop with a Pro’ event in 2018, where he provided a $200 gift card and new shoes during the holiday season for 30 children from City of Cleveland Recreation Centers. He was named the American Legion Man of the Year in 2015.
