BEREA, Ohio -- Wyatt Teller spent about 24 hours as the second-highest paid guard in the NFL until Joel Bitonio topped him on Wednesday and became highest-paid guard in the NFL.
That bumped Teller down to third, but he certainly doesn’t mind. The Browns now have their two second-team All-Pro guards under contract through 2025, and everyone in the building is ecstatic about that.
The Browns signed Bitonio, their three-time Pro Bowler, to a three-year extension worth $48 million, one day after Teller signed his new blockbuster four-year deal worth $56.8 million.
The Browns also included Bitonio’s 17th-week game checks in the extension, which put him slightly ahead of Kansas City’s Joe Thuney as the highest-paid guard in the NFL at just over $16 million a year. Teller is now third at $14.2 million a year over the next four years.
“I’ve been here for eight years now and seen a lot of ups and downs. To be part of that and for the team to have faith in me and allow me to be here for my entire career, it really means a lot. It’s special,” Bitonio said. “You see guys switch teams a lot and go from team to team, great players in this league. I saw Joe Thomas end his career here. It’s something when you get into Year 8 and Year 9, it gets in the back of your mind where it’d be really special to be in Cleveland your whole career and try to win a championship with these guys.
“I just want to thank the Haslams, Andrew Berry and Coach Stefanski for having faith in me and providing me with this opportunity.”
The Browns’ longest-tenured player, Bitonio has been the anchor of the line and a face of the franchise since Joe Thomas retired. There was no way they were going to let Teller make almost $6 million more a year than their prized left guard. Right tackle Jack Conklin also averages $14 million a year.
“After last season, we decided that one of our major football priorities would be to make Joel Bitonio a Brown for the rest of his career,” said Berry, Cleveland’s Executive VP of Football Operations and General Manager. “Joel is one of our most decorated players and is the ideal personification of our ‘Tough, Smart, Accountable’ mantra. We value Joel’s high-level performance, leadership, consistency and durability.
“We’re all excited about this extension and hopeful that at the end of his career we’ll all be looking forward to celebrating Joel’s gold jacket fitting in Canton.”
According to Pro Football Focus, he’s the third-highest rated guard in the NFL behind Dallas’ Zach Martin and Teller. In his eighth season, Bitonio played his 100th career game against the Chargers, and could be playing the best ball of his career in coach Kevin Stefanski’s wide-zone scheme.
“Joel Bitonio is everything you’d ever want in a football player,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said. “We always know exactly what we are going to get from Joel every rep, every practice, every game. His consistent effort, exceptional play, and team-first mentality make him a great teammate and truly a perfect example for every player that will ever wear brown and orange for the Cleveland Browns.
“Handing Joel a game ball in the locker room last year when we clinched a spot in playoffs will be a career highlight for me. Joel deserved that moment because of all the hard work and effort he puts into this organization. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to coach Joel. Congrats to him and his family, this contract is so well-deserved.”
Bitonio is thrilled to share the big moment with Teller and his other linemates.
“I’ve got a lot of good friends on the O-line, and it’s guys who work hard and love the game of football and are passionate about the Cleveland Browns,” Bitonio said. “We want to run the ball, we want to protect Baker and take our shots down field. There’s sometimes a lack of good linemen in the league, so to get five, six, seven good ones on a team, it’s really nice to have that depth and hopefully we can keep the guys together for as many years as possible.”
On Tuesday, Teller expressed gratitude for the continuity on the line.
“It’s amazing to be around the same guys for a year or two,’' he said. “It’s special. When you can lock down some guys for four or five years together, that is special. Each year, you are gaining so much continuity and so much experience together that each year it gets better and better and better. I am lucky to have a great center in (C) JC (Tretter) a great tackle in (T) Jack (Conklin), and right now, (T) Blake (Hance), who is playing out of his mind.
“I thought he was going to get some money with how well he’s been playing. He’s been blocking up everybody. Again, great teammates. (QB) Baker (Mayfield) was lights out. Nick was lights out. I have been blessed. (RB) Kareem (Hunt) should be coming back here soon. I know he is fighting hard to get back. We have great teammates and great players. I know that continuity is amazing. Again, it is a special thing. It is life-changing money. It is all of these amazing things, but the work has just begun.”
Bitonio has started 104 regular-season games, second-most by any Browns player since the team’s return in 1999. An ironman in the mold of Thomas, he hasn’t missed a regular-season snap since the start of the 2017 season. He’s blasted open holes for two-time Pro Bowler Nick Chubb, and has protected Mayfield, who set the rookie TD record in 2018 and was one of the least-sacked quarterbacks in 2020.
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