The Cleveland Browns have a big hole to fill at left tackle following the retirement of Joe Thomas. They will now look to fill it by moving Thomas’ former line mate on the left side, guard Joel Bitonio, over to tackle, Pat McManamon of ESPN reports.

Bitonio replaces Shon Coleman, who was tipped to succeed Thomas but was unable to win the job. Austin Corbett will also come in to replace Bitonio at left guard.

“Obviously I'm still most comfortable at guard right now,” Bitonio said. “I'm going to try to give it my best shot when I go out there and compete.”

Offensive line coach Bob Wylie recently said moving Bitonio was Option Z on the A-to-Z scale. But head coach Hue Jackson said he made the decision after watching tape and talking with the staff Tuesday.

“Was he reluctant?” Jackson said. “Yeah. I would be, too. He plays a position and he's real good at it, but I think for his teammates, his coaching staff and for all involved, he knows it's the best place for him to be right now.”

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Bitonio has some experience playing left tackle in college. But with Thomas entrenched at the position, Bitonio moved to guard after being drafted by the Browns in 2014. He has since emerged as one of the top guards in the league.

Bitonio admits that he’s unsure how he’ll do playing his new position. But he did note that he’s reached out to Thomas, who is set to come over soon to help him in his transition.