CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Browns coaching staff’s decision to rotate right guards Wyatt Teller and Teven Jenkins on Sunday against the 49ers was in the works all week and, as far as left guard Joel Bitonio is concerned, it only brought out what he already knew about Teller.

“Class act, professional,” Bitonio said on Thursday, discussing the offensive teammate he believes he’s played the most games with during his 12 seasons here.

The Browns acquired Teller in a trade shortly before the start of the 2019 season. He took over as the starting right guard in Week 9 that season and has been there ever since. Sunday’s game marked his 100th career start.

“I’ve had a lot of games with that guy and I tell people all the time, he’s going to come and work, he’s going to put the team first,” Bitonio said. “He’s going to try his butt off. He’s tough and competitive.”

Given all that, it’s not surprising that learning he wouldn’t play every snap was tough to take.

“To hear that news, obviously you’re devastated,” Bitonio said, “and you want to make it work.”

Following Sunday’s game Teller said he got the text he was going to rotate on Tuesday night. When asked if he was given a reason, he said, “Probably along the lines of not playing well enough.”

Teller rotated with Jenkins every other series throughout the game until he suffered a calf injury on the second play after the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter. He will be out this week.

Bitonio watched his longtime linemate handle it like he’s come to expect him to handle something difficult.

“He wasn’t happy about it,” Bitonio said, “but I think he came in and he helped Tev and they were talking all week and he worked.”

Jenkins, after Sunday’s game, had nothing but praise for how Teller helped him.

“It says a lot about his character. He’s a great man,” Jenkins said. “He really cares about who you are, the person and football player, and he really cares about this team.”

The decision on Sunday speaks to the uncertain futures along the offensive line after this season. Bitonio, Teller, center Ethan Pocic and right tackle Jack Conklin are all free agents after this season. Dawand Jones, who started the year at left tackle before moving to right tackle in Week 3, saw his season end in that game, the third consecutive year he’s suffered a season-ending injury.

At one point this season, it might have felt like Pocic, 30, and Teller, 31, could both be pieces of the near future. But the decision against the 49ers calls at least Teller’s status into question, even after he proclaimed he hopes to retire as a Brown.

Bitonio also faces another decision about his future. The 34-year-old former second-round pick seriously considered retirement last season and has admitted he’s year-to-year at this point.

The up-in-the-air status of much of the offensive line isn’t something that will play a factor into his decision.

“You could have a whole new lineup if things fall the right way or they can re-sign some guys or things happen,” Bitonio said. “But for me it’s really just going to be, that’s more of a personal decision on it. I think they’ll figure out the guys if they need to go that route.”

Another season short on wins certainly works against the Browns’ hopes that their stalwart interior lineman returns.

“If you’re making a Super Bowl run every year, it might be easier to be like, ‘Hey, let’s go one more,’” he said, pointing to Eagles center Jason Kelce who kept playing in search of one more ring.

But there’s more that goes into it, especially for a player who, even at this late stage in his career, is still playing at a high level.

“There’s so many factors and I think first and foremost it’s just health and body and all that is the main contributor,” Bitonio said, “but you obviously factor in all those different decisions.”

This week, with Teller out, Jenkins will get the full workload at right guard. Bitonio said he was “really solid” against the 49ers and he was able to move people in the run game. He also said Teller played one of his better games in a while.

“Both of them were very professional and both I think played really, really well last week,” Bitonio said. “So it was a positive in that aspect, it was a smooth transition.”

It was also a sign of more transition to come. Whether that involves Teller, Bitonio, both or neither is still to be determined.