Joel Bitonio goes off on Browns fans who are focused on next year

The Cleveland Browns squeaked out a 13-6 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, in a game where the offenses could not catch fire, Cleveland found a way to keep defending their home field against Pittsburgh.

If you put it in that context, Cleveland gets a nice win over their rivals at home, you would wonder why some Browns fans are upset after the game. The other fact is that by winning the game, Cleveland falls out of the possibility of getting the number one overall pick, and more than likely a top-two pick in next year’s draft. This means if Cleveland wanted to select a quarterback, they would have to trade up.

The concept of wanting your team to lose games is hard to understand during the games, but if you are a fan of a team that is not making the playoffs, the optimism comes from getting the highest pick you can in next year’s draft.

Veteran Browns offensive lineman Joel Bitonio spoke on this subject after the game.

“I’ll tell you what, I do not blame the fans for thinking about the future.” Bitonio started by, acknowledging that it is not far-fetched for fans to be concerned about the future of the team.

“But as players in this locker room, every time you go on the field, it’s a resume. This is a real sport. This is the NFL. You have to put your best foot forward when you go out there. You have to compete,” Bitonio went on.

Bitonio also recognizes that Cleveland has a lot of young players playing in important spots who do not want to start their career by losing games, and that you can not build a culture of success by continuing to lose.

“These guys are trying to build a culture for the future, and to go out there and be like ‘we’re going to lose our last couple of games for a better draft pick…,’ it would never cross a player’s mind.”

Professional football players never know how many games they get to play in, and in substantial amounts of time, playing into the phrase that the NFL stands for “Not For Long.” So, putting their best foot forward and trying their absolute hardest is what they have to do every single game.

“Maybe the fans want to have some fan-fiction, maybe upstairs is hoping or something like that, but I know the players and coaches fight for every win, and every time you go on the field, it’s a resume builder,” Bitonio finished with.

It is a tough spot for players to be in, the place where some of your own fans want you to lose the game. Especially if you are a player like Bitonio, who has been a part of some of the franchise’s worst teams in history (2016, 2017), a guy who has given his all to the city of Cleveland and contemplated retirement before the season.

To tell him that you would rather lose the game when he is putting his body on the line, game in and out, is a bit of a punch in the face.