Joel Bitonio used the first minute of his retirement press conference to take a shot at one of the most infamous draft busts of the past decade. The longtime Cleveland Browns guard could not help himself, and to be fair, the opportunity was right there.
Bitonio called it a career on Tuesday after 12 NFL seasons, all spent with the Browns. He opened his remarks by walking through the early days of his career, including the part where he and the second round of the 2014 draft class showed up to Berea together. That class included quarterback Johnny Manziel.
“I was drafted the same year as Johnny Manziel. We actually roomed together,” Bitonio said. “I learned some things not to do from him.”
The room laughed. Bitonio kept moving. Manziel, as he tends to do, became a sidebar in someone else’s story.
The contrast between the two careers could not be sharper. Manziel washed out of the NFL in two seasons, derailed by off-field issues that he has discussed openly in the years since. Bitonio carved out a Hall of Very Good career as one of the most reliable interior linemen of his generation. He was a first-team All-Pro twice, a six-time Pro Bowler, and the steady leader of an offensive line that kept Cleveland competitive even during the rough years.
Manziel is now in a different orbit. He recently made his MMA debut, which he won, and has been involved in mentoring a young quarterback prospect. Whether that mentorship looks anything like the example he set as a rookie is up for debate, but he is at least visible again. Bitonio meanwhile gets to ride off as the consummate professional, with one last grin and one last shot at the roommate who took the more chaotic path.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
