Browns notes: TE David Njoku says he’ll be activated from IR, play Sunday

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Photo credit Daryl Ruiter-92.3 The Fan
BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Browns tight end David Njoku has had to wait 10 weeks to get back on the football field, but he expects Sunday he’ll finally get that opportunity.

“That’s the goal, yeah,” Njoku said Friday. “I feel great. Ready to go.”

Njoku clarified that he didn’t expect to be activated the previous two weeks despite saying he was healthy enough to play.

“[I was] more hopeful than expecting,” Njoku said. “Once I felt I was ready to play I told [the front office] upstairs.”

Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens wouldn’t definitively say that Njoku would be activated when asked Friday after practice.

“We will see how it goes Saturday and Sunday,” Kitchens said, later adding on a follow-up question about Njoku’s health, “he is healthy and ready to go. He is healthy.”

Njoku suffered a broken right wrist during the second quarter of a 23-3 win over the Jets in New York. He also suffered a concussion on the same play, which he would later describe as dirty.

Originally Njoku opted not to have surgery on the wrist but changed his mind when doctors explained it would head faster.

As for his role, Njoku isn’t limited.

“I can do anything they ask me to do,” Njoku said.

“Guess we’ll find out in about two days, huh.”

The Browns will have to make a corresponding roster move to activate Njoku.

Game time decision – Right tackle Chris Hubbard is listed as questionable, but he isn’t sure if he’ll be able to play this week with a knee injury,

“I want to do everything that I can to be there for them and help this team win in any kind of way,” Hubbard said. “So that’s what’s affecting me right now. We’ll just see how it feels on Sunday.”

Hubbard suffered the injury when he collided with Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt late in last week’s 20-13 loss in Pittsburgh.

Randall ready – Safety Damarious Randall is expected to return to the lineup Sunday against the Bengals after being left home last weekend for disciplinary reasons.

“He came to work every day and what I fully expected him to do and what he expected that out of himself,” Kitchens said. “He did a good job.”

Stayin’ alive – No matter what happens Sunday, the Browns will enter the 15th week of the season mathematically alive for the playoffs.

The worst-case scenario to happen would be a loss to the Bengals coupled by wins by the Steelers and Titans that push them both to 8-5.

Pittsburgh is at Arizona this week while Tennessee is at Oakland. The Raiders enter the week 6-6 as do the Colts. Indianapolis is scheduled to visit Tampa Bay.

Injury report – OUT: CB Robert Jackson (ankle)

QUESTIONABLE: RT Chris Hubbard (knee), C JC Tretter (knee), DE Olivier Vernon (knee), TE Demetrius Harris (shoulder)

EXPECTED TO PLAY: QB Baker Mayfield (right hand/ribs), WR Odell Beckham Jr. (groin), WR Jarvis Landry (hip), TE Stephen Carlson (ankle), WR KhaDarel Hodge (Achilles), S Eric Murray, CB Greedy Williams (shoulder), RB Dontrell Hilliard (knee), LT Greg Robinson (concussion), DE Chad Thomas (chest/ribs), LB Mack Wilson (chest/ribs), RG Wyatt Teller