This week’s news of David Njoku landing in the AFC West should hit home for fans of the Cleveland Browns. While it’s typically smart business in the NFL to cut ties with aging veterans a year early, rather than a year too late, Njoku just signed a one-year contract with the Chargers for essentially half of his 2025 salary in Cleveland.
The whole situation is a major head-scratcher for the Browns, who haven’t yet replaced Njoku on their depth chart, outside of a couple fringe veteran signings and a pair of Day 3 draft picks. In fact, one glance at the Chargers tight end depth chart shows what could’ve been for GM Andrew Berry and the Browns.
The Chargers entered the offseason in a similar boat. Oronde Gadsden broke out in a pass-catching role as a rookie in 2025, and the team made a targeted effort to support him in free agency. In addition to Njoku, they signed ascending in-line blocking specialist Charlie Kolar back in March.
Kolar was routinely mentioned as a logical fit for the Browns, as his skill set complements Fannin’s extremely well. He also spent the past three seasons playing in Todd Monken’s offense with the Baltimore Ravens.
The Browns ultimately passed on Kolar’s market, which climbed beyond $24 million on a three-year deal. Months later, it’s impossible to look at the Chargers’ Gadsden-Kolar-Njoku trio at tight end without second-guessing the Browns’ underwhelming approach behind Fannin.
Kolar’s recent press conference with members of the Chargers media only makes the Browns’ miss hit harder. If Monken were to draw up his ideal No. 2 tight end — here’s the prototype:
"There's something so beautiful about — you're up by six points, it's like third-and-3. You know you're running it. There's two minutes left in the game. They have no timeouts. You get a first down, the game's over," Kolar said. "They know you're running it. Your wife knows you're running it. Their wife knows you're running it. You still run it. That is more satisfying than any touchdown I've ever had. That's one thing I've grown to appreciate in the NFL."
Chargers TE Charlie Kolar: "There's something so beautiful about you're up by six points, it's like 3rd and 3-you know you're running it. There's two minutes left in the game, they have no timeouts. You get a first down, the game's over."
— Alex Insdorf (@alexinsdorf99) May 11, 2026
"They know you're running it. Your wife… pic.twitter.com/DQLyINTPD7
Charlie Kolar sounds like a match made in heaven for Todd Monken
It’s possible that Browns brass is perfectly happy entering the 2026 season with Fannin, fifth-round rookie Joe Royer, and veteran blocking specialist Jack Stoll as their top three tight ends. The obvious benefit there is that the Browns have little-to-no guaranteed money currently tied up in the position.
Kolar’s contract with the Chargers was more than reasonable, though, for an ascending player who’s just hitting his prime. His 2026 cap hit was just $4.3 million, per Spotrac, and the Chargers can exit the contract in 2028 for just $2.3 million in dead money.
Not going up to $8 million in potential max value for Njoku? That’s justifiable given Njoku’s struggles to stay on the field and produce last year. Kolar was the exact kind of low-risk, high-reward move Browns fans wanted to see from Berry in free agency.
Cleveland had the luxury of holding premium 2026 draft capital, and after shoring up the offensive line in free agency the Browns hit just about every other need on the roster during the draft. That strategy included selecting two tight ends, and unless Stoll unexpectedly emerges as a high-end starter, Cleveland’s biggest second guess of the 2026 offseason will be painfully obvious.
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