Post free agency roster moves for the Cleveland Browns

David Njoku – Tight End

Here is the interesting piece to me, David Njoku, who has shown flashes of greatness, but has also been inconsistent dropping passes and not being a great run-blocker. Not to mention an injury in 2019 that limited him to only four games and five receptions.

Njoku has two years remaining on his rookie deal, but is there room and will he be satisfied after the addition of Austin Hooper? The short answer is it doesn’t matter if he will be happy, he’s a professional and needs to deal with whatever hand he is dealt with.

However, given the 12 personnel that Stefanski wants to run, I think Njoku is a great asset to the Browns and could possibly fill a void at the third receiving position as well.

A trade partner is what could be extremely enticing for Njoku. Let’s use the Washington Redskins for example. The Redskins are adamant on a strong compensation for Trent Williams, but no team wants to send a high draft pick and pay Williams top dollar with injury concerns. Njoku could be the missing piece to finalizing a trade.

The Browns don’t need Njoku, and the Redskins could likely use the depth with Jordan Reed no longer on the team. Njoku, paired with a fourth or fifth-round pick could be a win/win for both teams. Now, the circumstance must be right for the Browns to trade Njoku, but I don’t think it should be taken off the table.

Even if the duo of Hooper and Njoku works well in the next two seasons, it is highly unlikely you would be able to resign Njoku after his rookie deal is over.

Summary:

Andrew Berry must be strategic in every decision he makes, but three of the four decisions above are no brainers. Keep Vernon, OBJ, and Landry at least for 2020.

They don’t have enough trade value to trade them and cap space is not an issue yet with tons of young talent still on rookie deals.  Njoku is a little tougher, but I still lean towards keeping the athletic tight end unless the trade opportunity is too good to pass up.