BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – David Njoku is amid a breakout year and he’s not about to let a sprained ankle slow him down.
Njoku didn’t practice Thursday, the first of the week with the Browns hosting the Bengals Monday night, but he is also not ruling himself out either.
“It’s healing pretty fast,” Njoku said Thursday. “Getting the right treatment, so it’s going to be like a day-to-day thing, so we’ll see.”
Njoku, who suffered the injury in the third quarter when he caught a shovel pass on a third-and-2 for three yards, was not in a boot or wearing a brace as he stood barefoot talking to reporters. He also didn’t have any visible swelling – a great sign.
“He said he is day to day, right? I will stick with that,” head coach Kevin Stefanski said.
Njoku stayed on the field for another play before heading to the sideline, and ultimately to the locker room.
“Yeah, it, felt a little funny, but I tried to play through it,” Njoku said. “So I stayed in the next snap and then I went to see the trainer afterwards.”
That shovel pass was reminiscent of what Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce do with the Chiefs.
“I aspire to be like Kelce,” Njoku, who finished the day with seven catches for 71 yards, said. “He's obviously a close friend of mine and a great tight end. He's a very, very good player.”
The 2017 first round pick is tied with Amari Cooper for the team lead in catches with 34 and he’s just four yards behind Cooper in receiving yardage.
“I think he was really on the rise,” quarterback Jacob Brissett said. “I don’t think his season’s over, it’s just a little hiccup, so he’s definitely going to be missed for sure.”
With Pharaoh Brown still in concussion protocol, Harrison Bryant and practice squaders Miller Forristall and Zaire Mitchell-Paden are the only available tight ends should Njoku needs to sit out this week.
“First off, the whole tight end room, we have amazing athletes, with Harrison, Pharaoh, Miller Zaire, so I'm not really too worried about them picking up the slack,” Njoku said. “I know they work hard every day. They prepare as if they are tight end one. So I expect them to pick up exactly where I left off. So I'm excited to see them play, for sure.”
On the block – With the trade deadline approaching next Tuesday, running back Kareem Hunt appears to be on the block.
“Kareem is a good friend of mine,” running back Nick Chubb said. “He’s a great teammate. Great to play with, so who knows what happens? I love playing with Kareem.”
Hunt is in the final year of his contract and considering the limited touches he has been getting in games recently, it is unlikely the Browns will bring him back next year.
“No reason,” Stefanski said when asked about Hunt’s touches. “Expect him to help us and contribute this game. Sometimes you get unlucky a little bit. He got unlucky with some really bad runs, quite honestly, but I wouldn’t read too much into that.”
Hunt requested a trade during training camp, which the Browns denied, and sat out a day of team drills as a negotiating ploy before returning quickly to full participation.
“Kareem is a great player,” Chubb said. “He can do anything you ask - catch the ball, run, block well. He’s a great player. Very dynamic, explosive. He’s great to play with. Our O-line does a great job blocking. Kareem makes a lot of plays.”
Stefanski doesn’t believe trade speculation will have a negative impact on Hunt or the rest of the team.
“I think that is the time of year you are in,” Stefanski said. “Things get put out on social media, I am sure, but we don’t pay much attention to it.”
Hot hand – Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is red hot coming into this game having thrown for 781 yards and six touchdowns combined the last two games and the Bengals have won four of their last five following an 0-2 start.
“It is a combination of good scheme and good players,” Stefanski said. “Burrow is playing at a high level. He is a young player who seems to get better week to week. Dynamic players and major RAC [run after catch] from those players on the perimeter.
“It is a balanced attack, and they do have the ability when you play single safety to throw go balls. It is a tough matchup. I think there are certain things that you can do as a defense, but you are just trying to slow that pass attack down.”
Burrow has been hitting deep ball with regularity again, which could make for a long day for the Browns’ defense.
“They’ve been working together for a minute,” linebacker Deion Jones said. “They got great communication. They got great chemistry and I just think guys just fed off and leaked over into the league and they’ve been doing great with it.”
Ward still out – Cornerback Denzel Ward remains in the concussion protocol and Stefanski did not have an update on Ward’s progress.
“I don’t know that I am able to say,” Stefanski said.
Ward, who has missed the last two games after suffering a concussion against the Chargers October 9, made one of the biggest plays of the season a year ago – a 99-yard pick-6 – in a dominating 41-16 victory last November in Cincinnati.
“Obviously, that was a game changing play, and those are game changing plays when you can get your hands on the ball and flip the field or score,” Stefanski said. “That is obviously a boon to your team. I think should Denzel not make it, I think we have guys that can similarly make plays. That is ultimately what it is about.”
Injury report – DNP: LG Joel Bitonio (rest), WR Amari Cooper (rest), DE Jadeveon Clowney (ankle, knee), DE Myles Garrett (shoulder, biceps), TE David Njoku (ankle), LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (knee), TE Pharaoh Brown (concussion), CB Denzel Ward (concussion), RG Wyatt Teller (calf), CB Greedy Williams (illness); LIMITED: WR David Bell (ankle), OL Joe Haeg (concussion), CB Greg Newsome II (oblique); FULL: TE Harrison Bryant (thumb)
Up next – Practice Friday.