CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – David Njoku will be a free agent come March 16, but if the tight end has his way, he won’t be going anywhere.
“I love it here. I love it here to the core,” Njoku said Monday, a day after the Browns finished the season 8-9 with a 21-16 win over the Bengals. “I honestly want to be here for the rest of my career. My agent and the Browns are still in talks, and we are still negotiating and figuring out what we can do. We will go from there.”
Njoku, who was selected 29th overall in the 2017 NFL Draft, just completed the fifth year on his rookie contract.
He suffered through a winless rookie season and contributed to the Browns ending their 18-year playoff drought last season but in 2021 the Browns fell woefully short of expectations.
For Njoku, there’s unfinished business.
“100 percent,” Njoku said. “What our goals are as a team and individually we have not done yet. More so team wise, it is our dream to bring a championship here in Cleveland. There is no question that we have unfinished business. It is a tough pill to swallow right now because we know how good we were on the roster, and we knew the talent that we had, but we just could not put it all together for whatever reason.”
Njoku finished third on the team with 36 catches for 475 yards, which ranked third, this past season. His four touchdowns match his first two seasons and led the team this year. He has totaled 148 catches for 1,754 yards and 15 touchdowns over 65 games, 36 of those starts.
“We left a lot on the field, and I want to take personal blame for some of that,” Njoku said. “I feel like I could have done more. We all feel like we could have done more. We have to just turn to the next chapter and get back to work. Obviously, take a little vacation, take time off to reflect, relax and refocus, and in a couple of weeks, we have to hunker done and start from Phase 1 again.”
Show me the money – Defensive end Jadeveon Clowney had one of his healthiest and most productive seasons in years.
Now he hopes to cash in coming off his one-year prove-it deal with the browns that paid him nearly $9 million with incentives.
“Especially coming out of this, you are playing at a high level, and you want to get paid like it,” Clowney said Sunday evening. “I had a couple of years that I have been hurt, but I always thought I was playing well.
I have just been injured.
“I just want to make it through a year healthy and show people I can play at a high level and stay healthy. That was my goal this year, to be in a healthier place than I have been the last few years. I think I reached that.”
In 14 games this season Clowney registered nine sacks, 11 tackles for loss, 19 QB hits, a pair of pass breakups and forced fumbles. The pairing with Myles Garrett was a roaring success with both plyers benefitting.
So does it come down to just money?
“I am not saying that right now, but what I am saying is that it is about money,” Clowney said, “not about the most – but it is [also] about being comfortable in the right place, the guys around you and all of that comes into play when you decide where to go.”
Suggestion box – Safety John Johnson III did not hold back when it came to the training staff and dealing with the volume of injuries – especially the soft tissue injuries – the team dealt with this season.
“I think our relationship with the training staff could be a whole lot better,” Johnson said. “Just staying proactive about things, getting guys in there who probably wouldn’t until they’re hurt. Just try to implement a plan for each individual guy on the team. I think that goes a long way.
“I think sport science is huge, just like doing vision training, hand-high coordination, balance. I think all that stuff plays a part in staying healthy and just being a better overall team.”
Johnson, who signed a three-year deal as a free agent from the Rams last spring, said that he’d like to see the team hire a yoga instructor “to work on our flexibility.”
Head coach Kevin Stefanski acknowledged the willingness to make changes while also explaining the team was limited this year by the health and safety protocols agreed to by the NFL and NFLPA.
“We are always going to be searching for new and better ways to do things,” Stefanski said. “I mentioned to you guys before, want to look at some of the soft-tissue injuries that we had and prevent those ones that are preventable, if you can. Certainly, we will look at all of those things. I am always looking for our players to chime in on suggestions and definitely want to look into all of that stuff.”
Run it back – Stefanski indicated that his coaching staff is expected to return next season, including all three coordinators.
“I do not anticipate any major changes,” Stefanski said.
It also appears that Stefanski will continue to retain play calling duties next season.
“All of that is stuff that we will reflect on and we will talk about,” Stefanski said. “I will tell you just from a coaching staff communication standpoint, I thought the guys did an outstanding job throughout the year of making sure that on those headsets that we are communicating and throughout the week that we are communicating, making sure that we are all on the same page. I think AVP deserves a ton of credit in that regard.”
Quote of the day – “We didn't get a lot of breaks this year. What the heck? The football gods do not like Cleveland. What the heck? I'm kidding. We just need to get a couple breaks like that, stay healthy and hopefully play well.” Browns right guard Wyatt Teller on all of the adversity the Browns faced this past season.
Reserve/futures deals – The Browns signed eight players to reserve/futures contracts Monday: tight end Miller Forristall, guard Hjalte Froholdt, tight end Nick Guggemos, cornerback Nate Meadors, guard David Moore, fullback Johnny Stanton IV, offensive tackle Alex Taylor and defensive end Curtis Weaver.
All eight players finished the 2021 season on the practice squad.
Up next – Browns EVP/GM Andrew Berry will speak Tuesday morning.
