Cleveland Browns: 5 players possibly entering last season with franchise
By John Suchan
Cleveland Browns player No. 2 in last season with team: Denzel Ward
Denzel Ward is another player, like the previously mentioned Mayfield, who is going into the final year of his rookie contract. There still hasn’t been any significant news of any kind suggesting the two sides are close to a new deal.
Maybe the team will simply have Ward play out the season and allow him to become an unrestricted free agent in a year. It seems from afar, that due to any number of things, the team just isn’t sold on Ward right now or they would have negotiated a deal well in advance.
Ward hasn’t made it through a season without some type of injury and that track record might be playing into the Browns current thinking. Cleveland could also be looking at using Ward in some potential trade offer as we get closer to the draft.
If Ward played out this season, he certainly would be in line to get a very attractive next deal with some team in the league.
Cleveland Browns player No. 3 in last season with team: David Njoku
Cleveland put the franchise tag on David Njoku a few weeks ago, bringing him back to the team for at least one more season. Will the Browns and Njoku try to work out a longer-term deal?
Time will tell, but again nothing has been done yet as there have just been days of rumors. If there isn’t a deal made, then Njoku will be an unrestricted free agent again in 2023.
Njoku will go into this season as the team’s No. 1 tight end. Former Browns tight end Austin Hooper was released a few weeks ago and signed a new deal with the Tennessee Titans. Having the title of No. 1 for Njoku could mean big things for the Browns 2017 first-round pick.
Last season he finished with 36 catches for 475 yards and four touchdowns. He’s never had more than four touchdowns in any season. Maybe next season he’ll break that barrier.
With Watson now as the quarterback too, Njoku should probably benefit and hopefully return to producing a season as he did in 2018 when he pulled down 56 receptions for 639 yards. The Browns offense certainly won’t have any excuses for not scoring points next season with Watson behind center.