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Cleveland Browns All-Pro offensive lineman Joel Bitonio suggested he thought former teammate J.C. Tretter may be blackballed from the NFL over his concerns about field conditions and overall player safety.
Tretter is the president of the NFL Players Association and spent the last five seasons with the Browns, but since the 2021 season ended, he has yet to land with a team. Tretter recently ripped the field conditions at Solider Field, the home of the Chicago Bears, in a tweet.
"When you have a guy that’s top five, top 10 at center in the league, and he’s not on a roster, you know, and he’s the NFLPA president and maybe some of the owners don’t appreciate what he brings to the table on certain topics when he’s trying to protect player safety and things of that nature, it seems a little suspicious to me," Bitonio said Sunday.
Cleveland Browns offensive guard Joel Bitonio, #75, blocks in the third quarter an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Cleveland, Jan. 3, 2021. (AP Photo/David Richard, File)
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"But, again, I don’t know what’s going on behind closed doors. I don’t know what his conversations have been with teams and stuff, but just from an outside perspective usually players that are close to the top of their game get picked up. Teams want to win in this league. So it’s an interesting topic, for sure."
Tretter recently expressed his concerns about the conditions of the Bears’ field. The grass appeared to be torn up after a concert.
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Cleveland Browns guard Joel Bitonio, #75, and Cleveland Browns center JC Tretter, #64, during a game between the Atlanta Falcons and Cleveland Browns on November 11, 2018, at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland. (Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
"The NFL said that this field met minimum testing standards. We clearly need to re-evaluate what is an acceptable surface for players to compete on. We need new testing metrics looking at the performance and safety of every field. The NFL can and should do better," Tretter wrote.
In February, Tretter and the NFLPA addressed their opposition to the NFL Scouting Combine and called for "serious modification or elimination" of the event altogether.
JC Tretter, #64, and Joel Bitonio, #75 of the Cleveland Browns, celebrate after a touchdown in the second half of the game against the Las Vegas Raiders at FirstEnergy Stadium on December 20, 2021 in Cleveland. (Nick Cammett/Getty Images)
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He told The New York Times at the time the NFL Combine "shifted to being made a reality TV show, and been shifted away from its original need, it’s become less and less valuable" and it was becoming less beneficial for those involved.