{"id":95937,"date":"2024-02-25T14:13:44","date_gmt":"2024-02-25T14:13:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/?p=95937"},"modified":"2024-02-25T14:25:22","modified_gmt":"2024-02-25T14:25:22","slug":"browns-star-david-njoku-sends-5-word-message-on-cut-rumor-kieu-linh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nflquynh.aweu.info\/browns-star-david-njoku-sends-5-word-message-on-cut-rumor-kieu-linh\/","title":{"rendered":"Browns Star David Njoku Sends 5-Word Message on Cut Rumor"},"content":{"rendered":"
Cleveland Browns\u00a0tight end\u00a0David Njoku\u00a0fired back on social media over the unfounded speculation that he could be a cap casualty.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The clip that caught Njoku\u2019s attention came from the\u00a0Pro Football Focus NFL Podcast. Hosts Steve Palazzolo and Sam Monson were\u00a0discussing how to \u201cfix\u201d the Browns, with most of the conversation centering around\u00a0Deshaun Watson\u2019s\u00a0massive cap hit of nearly $64 million.<\/p>\n
While discussing potential cap casualties, Njoku\u2019s name was brought up by Palazzolo. It did come with some praise attached.<\/p>\n
\u201cDavid Njoku is another guy who is a potential cut candidate,\u201d Palazzolo said. \u201cBut man, did he start to figure it out last year as a legit playmaker. If the Browns are going to get Deshaun back to 2020 or 2019 standards, they have to do it with better pass catchers. It can\u2019t just be Amari Cooper and David Njoku. It has to get even better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Njoku\u00a0reposted a clip of the conversation\u00a0with the caption: \u201c@adamrank
\nGet ya lil bro pls.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tagging Rank \u2014 an NFL Network analyst \u2014 was Njoku\u2019s way of calling the take as blasphemy. Njoku has\u00a0some history with Rank. He predicted a miserable 2023 season for Cleveland, which ended up finishing 11-6 despite some significant injuries. Njoku called out Rank by name after locking up a playoff spot in Week 17.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sure when everybody got hurt, everybody doubted us,\u201d\u00a0Njoku said in December. \u201cEverybody said we weren\u2019t going to do whatever. There\u2019s a guy, Adam Rank \u2014 that guy sucks. We hold our own fate. We pushed through \u2014 earned that. The guys in this locker room should be proud of that, but understand that there\u2019s a lot more that we can do.\u201d<\/p>\n
For what it\u2019s worth,\u00a0Monson defended the clip mentioning Njoku.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean this isn\u2019t at all taken out of context or misrepresenting a larger body of analysis,\u201d Monson tweeted.<\/p>\n
When it comes to Njoku as a cut candidate, it doesn\u2019t make much sense. It would have minimal, if not detrimental effects\u00a0on Cleveland\u2019s cap space\u00a0to part ways with the 2017 first-round pick. On top of that, Njoku is coming off his first Pro Bowl season.<\/p>\n
Njoku led the Brown\u00a0with 81 receptions (81)\u00a0and notched career-highs in yardage (882) and touchdowns (6). He also has his head coach on his side. Kevin Stefanski sang Njoku\u2019s praises during a press conference in December.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere can\u2019t be many better than him when you talk about complete tight ends, whether it\u2019s the run and the pass,\u201d\u00a0Stefanski said. \u201cI\u2019ve seen him grow, certainly as a player in our time together, but he\u2019s a dynamic football player. And then the piece about off the field, I just think he\u2019s an incredible teammate. He\u2019s a positive force in this building, both on the practice field, in the locker room, on the game field.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The Browns are currently $7.72 million over the cap but the situation isn\u2019t as dire as it may seem on paper. The\u00a0NFL\u00a0salary cap increasing to $255.4 million helped the team\u2019s cause. In addition, the Browns can restructure some of their larger contracts to gain flexbility.<\/p>\n
Watson is at the top of that list. The Brown restructured his contract the last two years and could do so again, per\u00a0Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Browns retooled many of their top-end players last season, including Watson and Cooper, and will likely do so again over the next few weeks depending on what they decide to spend in free agency and trades,\u201d Cabot said. \u201cWith Watson, it\u2019s mostly a matter of when he\u2019s getting the money, not if, and players usually gladly accept the upfront chunk of change to invest or spend as they wish.\u201d<\/p>\n
It would open up a chunk of money for the Browns. However, general manager Andrew Berry isn\u2019t ready to make the call yet on if it\u2019s something the team will pursue.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll be honest, I\u2019m not there yet,\u201d Berry said on February 1,\u00a0via Zak Jackson of The Athletic. \u201cIt\u2019s\u00a0not a necessity, but it just kind of depends on how we put the plan together.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Cleveland Browns\u00a0tight end\u00a0David Njoku\u00a0fired back on social media over the unfounded speculation that he could be a cap casualty. The clip that caught Njoku\u2019s attention came from… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-95937","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nfl"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nflquynh.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95937","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nflquynh.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nflquynh.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nflquynh.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nflquynh.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95937"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nflquynh.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95937\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nflquynh.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95937"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nflquynh.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95937"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nflquynh.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95937"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}