Overview
- The Browns and Bitonio agreed to move his contract’s void date to the start of the new league year on March 11, according to multiple reports.
- The change prevents an immediate dead-cap acceleration estimated at about $23–23.5 million that would have triggered this week.
- Bitonio, 34, now has roughly three more weeks to choose between returning for 2026 or retiring after 12 seasons and 178 starts in Cleveland.
- Cleveland is preparing for major offensive-line changes, with Wyatt Teller, Ethan Pocic and Jack Conklin set to hit free agency and Dawand Jones rehabbing a knee injury.
- Cap-management paths include a short extension to spread bonus proration, a post-June 1 designation to split dead money, or processing retirement after June 1 to ease a single-year hit.