Myles Garrett’s time with the Cleveland Browns has already come to an end. After spending the first nine seasons of his NFL career in Cleveland, Garrett was traded to the Los Angeles Rams earlier this month in one of the biggest moves of the offseason.
The two-time Defensive Player of the Year now joins a Rams team with Super Bowl aspirations, where he is expected to anchor one of the NFL’s most feared pass rushes. Per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the move was quickly followed by a revised contract that ties Garrett to Los Angeles through 2030.
The trade has also fueled speculation about a potential Aaron Donald return. There is legitimate intrigue surrounding the possibility of Donald coming out of retirement to join Garrett in Los Angeles, with ESPN’s Adam Schefter noting that it is “more likely than not.”
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While the NFL world waits to see what Donald decides, one of Garrett’s former teammates has officially brought his career to a close.
Longtime Browns guard Joel Bitonio announced his retirement on Wednesday after 12 seasons, all spent in Cleveland. The seven-time Pro Bowler and two-time First-Team All-Pro leaves the game as one of the most accomplished offensive linemen of his generation. Bitonio appeared in 178 games during his career and started every single one of them.
Garrett reacted to the news on Wednesday with a heartfelt message on his Instagram story.
“Congrats on a Hall of Fame career!! Blessed to be your teammate and your friend.”
The two shared the Browns locker room from 2017 through 2025, spanning some of the most successful stretches of Cleveland football in recent memory. Garrett arrived as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, while Bitonio was already an established leader on the roster. Together, they helped the Browns end a 17-year playoff drought and made postseason appearances in 2020 and 2023.
Drafted in the second round in 2014, Bitonio earned seven consecutive Pro Bowl selections from 2018 through 2024 and First-Team All-Pro honors in 2021 and 2022. Throughout his career, he became known as one of the league’s most reliable and durable offensive linemen, rarely missing time and consistently performing at an elite level.
Now, while Garrett begins a new chapter in Los Angeles and pursues the championship that eluded him in Cleveland, Bitonio walks away as one of the most respected players in Browns history. Judging by Garrett’s message, the friendship built over nearly a decade as teammates will outlast their time on the field.
