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The Cleveland Browns may be one of the worst teams in the NFL halfway through the season, but one veteran didn’t want to see himself shipped away before the league’s trade deadline on Tuesday.
Tight end David Njoku has spent his entire career in Cleveland since being drafted 29th overall in 2017. Over the past nine seasons, he has represented the Browns on and off the field as one of their leaders and has loved every second of it.
Cleveland has gone 55-84-1 since he entered the league, but Njoku was passionate in his response to reporters who asked for his reaction to not being traded before the deadline.
“Of course, it’s always a possibility. This is the NFL,” Njoku said. “But I’m in Cleveland, baby. I’m not going nowhere. I ain’t f—ing leaving.”
Reporters followed up multiple times, prompting Njoku to get louder.
“Jesus Christ, no,” he responded after one reporter questioned if he’d ever leave.
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The reason Njoku was a trade target was because of his expiring contract. After this season, the 29-year-old will be an unrestricted free agent. However, he hopes to work something out to remain with the team.
He smirked when asked whether extension talks had begun — “I can’t say,” he replied to the reporter. Njoku did comment on why he’s so passionate about the franchise.
“Don’t you see this right here?” Njoku said as showed his custom jewelry off. “It says [No.] 85 with the Nigerian flag, but it’s also the state of Ohio. You didn’t see that, huh? It’s nice, isn’t it?”
Some players get frustrated when their team isn’t winning, and Njoku could be that player, having only played three total playoff games in his nine seasons with Cleveland.
But when he didn’t get the call that he was traded on Tuesday, his only reaction was happiness.
“I’m so happy, man. I don’t know how else to put it — I’m so happy. I’m serious,” he said.
Through seven games this season, Njoku has hauled in 27 of his 41 targets for 260 yards and two touchdowns. He has a promising counterpart at tight end as well in Harold Fannin Jr., who has caught 38 passes for 352 yards and two touchdowns.
Fannin’s emergence as a reliable pass-catcher for the Browns’ offense only stoked the fire around the Njoku rumors.
But the New Jersey native remains and will at least finish out the season with the Browns. From there, time will tell if both sides reach an agreement on an extension.
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