Cleveland Browns: David Njoku putting trade request behind him

David Njoku’s recent tweet says he’s all in with Cleveland Browns

It was understandable when David Njoku requested a trade from the Cleveland Browns. He went from the No. 1 player at his position to No. 2 when they made Austin Hooper the highest-paid tight end in the NFL.

His place on the team long-term became even more questionable when Cleveland drafted Harrison Bryant out of FAU. Bryant doesn’t have the same pedigree as Njoku, but he has a high ceiling as a pass-catcher.

Also understandable was the Browns reluctance to trade Njoku. Not only is he under contract for two more seasons but head coach Kevin Stefanski favors using a two tight end set on offense, meaning Njoku will still see the field a lot in 2019 — and it will be way more than what he saw with Freddie Kitchens in charge.

The good news is, the two sides seem as though they can make this work — unlike when they had a similar situation with Duke Johnson last year. The Browns have said they won’t trade Njoku and that was the same approach they took with Johnson.

Duke, however, decided not to show up to camp until he had to — and a hamstring injury kept him off the field until they finally did trade him. As for Njoku, he’s not only reporting but he says he’s “all-in.”

Njoku’s approach is admirable. It’s hard to ever fault a player for wanting to see if there’s a better option out there for him but when it became apparent the team wanted him to stay, he decided to take the high road. And in the process, he let the fans know they’ll be getting 100 percent from him.

There’s no guarantee Njoku’s representation won’t continue to work behind the scenes and there could be another push for a trade in 2021.

However, the good news is it seems he’s ready to get to work and prove himself, rather than trying to make things more awkward as he tries to leave town.