Wyatt Teller’s succession plan doesn’t have the drama of the Roy family.
But Teller’s has a clear advantage in loyalty over the fictional and dysfunctional group in the captivating HBO series.
The right guard was clearly relieved when general manager Andrew Berry didn’t trade him before the deadline Tuesday. Teller has been with the Browns since arriving in a trade from Buffalo in 2019 and has started a family and made a home in Northeast Ohio.
“I don’t want to leave,” Teller said. “I love it here.”
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Teller, who turns 31 on Nov. 21, was included in trade speculation because he’s a good player in the final year of his contract. He signed a four-year, $56.8 million extension during the 2021 season, the first of three straight in which he was voted to the Pro Bowl.
He isn’t happy to just stay for the final nine games of this season in the hopes of making a second-half run. He wants to sign another extension.
It’s the key piece of his plan to be the lineman that links the past, present and future for the organization.
“Kind of how Joel was between Joe and the rest of the guys,” Teller told The Chronicle-Telegram this week as the Browns (2-6) prepared to face the Jets (1-7) on Sunday in New Jersey.
Left guard Joel Bitonio played with left tackle Joe Thomas from 2014-17 before Thomas retired and five years later was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Bitonio and Teller have been the guard tandem since 2019.
Teller wants to provide the continuity he feels is necessary on an offensive line. The rest of the current starting linemen are also in the final years of their contracts, with Bitonio expected to retire and right tackle Jack Conklin and left tackle Cam Robinson expected to leave in free agency or retire.
“My thing is I want to retire a Cleveland Brown, I want to see success, I’ve been here a long time, I know what it took back in 2020, ’21, ’22, ’23 having success,” Teller said. “The last two years aren’t us.
“So I don’t want to leave. I don’t want to lose the fact that we are that close and we are again three plays away from … not being 7-1 but being close, very close. And our division’s wide open, even where we’re sitting, we can still go to the playoffs. Which is mindboggling. The grass isn’t always greener.”
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The offensive line is its own ecosystem. The five members must operate as one, and the offense can’t function if the line lacks cohesion and chemistry.
So the thought of having five new starters next year — center Ethan Pocic could re-sign and Week 1 left tackle Dawand Jones will try to return from another season-ending injury — can be scary. Teller’s succession plan would benefit him and the team.
“I don’t know if it’s ever been done,” Bitonio told The Chronicle regarding starting five new linemen. “I’m sure there’s been carryover somewhere.
“It would be a lot. You’re going to have someone in the building, someone that’s been in the room before, I’m sure. Or they’re going to bring a vet in from somewhere if they were to do that. I do think having guys that have been around and understand the situations would be helpful.”
Teller could be the ideal candidate.
“Having a guy who’s been around and been part of the winning and losing, kind of understands what it’s taken to get to this point and where it can go in the future,” Bitonio said. “So to have a guy that has experience in the room and has played a lot is a big point.
“It’s kind of crazy how it’s worked out where it was Joe for so long and then I kind of took over after four years. It’s kind of rare to have that type of just carryover, but it’s been pretty cool.”
Thomas and Bitonio are in the upper echelon of talent and leaders to play for the Browns since their return to the league, and Bitonio might follow Thomas to Canton. Teller is an interesting guy and has started 89 games for the Browns and become entrenched in the community.
“He’s played a lot of football for us,” Bitonio said. “He brings an intensity to himself. He’s experienced a lot of the stuff. So for him to be kind of that guy taking over would be great.
“When you have a vet guy that has played a lot, that loves the organization, that wants to be there, it means a lot to them. And so to have that leadership hopefully carries over to some of the guys.”
Pocic, who would also “love” to stay, said Teller’s fondness for his situation is obvious on a daily basis.
“He’s Cleveland through and through. He loves it here,” Pocic said. “He wants to be a Cleveland Brown for life.”
Nothing is imminent on an extension for Teller, with a potential timeline late in the season or before free agency in March. One thing is clear: Teller wants to get it done.
“I don’t want to tuck tail and leave because I feel like a couple years ago we were that close to being in the AFC Championship,” he said. “That’s just mindboggling for any Cleveland Browns fan. Because it’s just been since the ’80s since we’ve done it. We used to do it consistently, so how can we bring that culture back that goes to the playoffs, that has a winning team, that it’s not the same old Cleveland Browns?
“And I feel like we were right there and then just kind of took a step back. But I’m not blind to the fact that we’re right there. And again, as bad as the season is viewed or perceived, we’re like two or three plays away from a lot different season. Now how can we be more consistent and win, and that’s what good teams do late.”
Tight end David Njoku dropped multiple f-bombs this week to emphasize his desire to spend his entire career in Cleveland, as his contract is set to expire after the season. Bitonio knows what it’s like to fall in love with Northeast Ohio.
“The city embraces their guys,” he said. “But you come to this place from somewhere else and it becomes your home, and the fans and your neighbors and your kids go to school and the teachers and all those people are a part of the community that roots you on, and it becomes part of your life and part of your family and you have a lot of experiences here.
“All my kids are born in Cleveland. That’s special. And so you become part of something and it’s hard to see yourself somewhere else or anywhere else. And for me it was always trying to get the Browns as good as possible. That relationship makes you want to be here. And playing for one team in this league is pretty special. Not too many guys have the opportunity to do that.”
