David Njoku Facing Potential Absence; Browns Line Up TE Workouts

David Njoku exited the Browns’ Week 1 loss due to an ankle injury, and he could be sidelined for a stretch as a result. The Pro Bowl tight end is believed to be have suffered a high ankle sprain, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Njoku was in a walking boot after the team’s season opener, Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com adds. No firm timeline for his recovery is in place, but head coach Kevin Stefanski called him week-to-week. Losing Njoku for any period of time would deal a blow to a Browns passing attack which struggled on Sunday.

The 28-year-old set career highs in receptions (81), yards (882) and touchdowns (six) last season. Njoku faces expectations to remain a key member of Cleveland’s offense moving forward, and before being injured he recorded four catches for 44 yards. The former first-rounder is on the books for two more seasons as he continues to play out his $54.75MM deal.

With Njoku in line to miss time, Cleveland signed wideout Kadarius Toney to the practice squad. The former first-rounder recently visited the Browns, and he will aim to carve out a role amongst the likes of Amari Cooper, Jerry Jeudy, Elijah Moore and Cedric Tillman. At the tight end position, though, the team is in the process of seeking out an addition.

Cleveland hosted Geoff Swaim on a workout today, Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 reports. In addition, the team has visits lined up with Irv Smith and Tommy Sweeney, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler adds. Swain has the most experience in the group as a veteran of 102 combined regular and postseason games. The 30-year-old played out his rookie contract with the Cowboys before spending time in Jacksonville, Tennessee and Arizona. Swaim’s best campaign (in terms of catches and touchdowns) came with the Titans in 2021 when he posted a 31-210-3 statline.

Smith flashed potential during his Vikings tenure, but the 26-year-old has struggled with injuries in his career. Smith did not have an impactful one-year stint with the Bengals last season, and he failed to survive roster cuts with the Chiefs last month. Sweeney, 29, missed all of last season while spending the campaign on the Giants’ NFI list. He landed a deal with the Bears in free agency, but he too was released ahead of the cutdown deadline. Sweeney is a veteran of 24 games played with the Bills from 2019-22 in a depth and special teams capacity.

After restructuring Deshaun Watson‘s contract once again, the Browns have over $48MM in cap space. A short-term addition to replace Njoku will therefore be feasible, and it will be interesting to see if any of these visits produce an agreement.