The Cleveland Browns may consider reuniting with tight end David Njoku in 2026 as they assess their roster needs, particularly at the tight end position, where current options are limited and unreliable.
One position group that needs addressing is surprisingly the tight end position. As that position group sits right now, all of the Cleveland Browns' eggs are in the Harold Fannin Jr. basket.
That's not a bad strategy, as Fannin was a superstar in his first year in the NFL. As the 67th pick, he overperformed to an amazing extent and was one of the few bright spots for the Cleveland Browns in 2025.
As the Browns evaluate their roster heading into 2026, the tight end position is an obvious place of need on Cleveland's roster. As it sits right now, the only people on it are Fannin Jr, Jack Stoll, Blake Whiteheart, Brendan Bates, Sal Cannella, and Caden Prieskorn. Outside of Fannin Jr, the other five players are guaranteed exactly zero dollars on their contracts. These are not reliable pieces of the Browns' roster.
Cleveland has two solutions to this issue. The first is to address this need during the draft, which they very well will do. They just hosted tight end Kenyon Sadiq, who has the potential to be one of the best players in the draft when it is all said and done.
A more likely outcome is a guy like Max Klare in the third or fourth round, very similar to where they selected Fannin Jr. last year.
The other option is to dip their toe into the free agency pool. The available players there are all wily veterans. The names are Jonu Smith, Zack Ertz, Darren Waller, and, of course, David Njoku. Out of those four, the obvious one that is the best fit is Njoku.
With the way that Todd Monken deploys tight ends and weapons, it is almost guaranteed that Cleveland is going to add another tight end at some point during the remainder of this offseason. The only question is when and where.
Njoku will likely want to go to a winner, and as a veteran, will probably want to wait until training camp is wrapping up before he signs. With that said, there is a legitimate connection between Njoku and the Cleveland fanbase, and bringing him back would be a great signal to the Dawg Pound.
All contract information in this article came from Jack Duffin of the Orange and Brown Report. His article is linked here and is available above.
This article originally appeared on Browns Wire: Browns could realistically reunite with TE David Njoku in 2026
Currently, the Browns have Harold Fannin Jr. and four other tight ends with no guaranteed contracts, making the position a significant area of need.
The Browns could bring back David Njoku to strengthen their tight end position, which is currently lacking reliable players.
Harold Fannin Jr. was a standout player in his rookie season, significantly exceeding expectations as the 67th pick in the draft.
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