{"id":742083,"date":"2026-02-10T08:44:30","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T08:44:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/742083\/"},"modified":"2026-02-10T08:44:30","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T08:44:30","slug":"cleveland-browns-tight-end-david-njoku-leaves-team-after-2025-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/742083\/","title":{"rendered":"Cleveland Browns Tight End David Njoku Leaves Team After 2025 Season"},"content":{"rendered":"

Shedeur Sanders<\/a> and the Cleveland Browns<\/a> did not have the 2025 NFL<\/a> season they were hoping for, finishing the year with a 5-12 record and missing out on the playoffs for the second-straight year. On the bright side, the Browns finished out 2025 on a two-game winning streak, building momentum for the 2026 season.<\/p>\n

Over the first half of the season, Sanders didn’t see much action with Joe Flacco<\/a> and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel<\/a> ahead of him in the depth chart. But after Cleveland began the year with a 2-8 record, they elected to start the former Colorado quarterback over the last seven games.<\/p>\n

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Sanders helped Cleveland secure a 3-4 record in those matchups, earning a Pro Bowl nod after completing 120-of-212 passes for 1,400 yards, seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions, adding another 169 yards and a score on the ground. But in 2026, his second year in the NFL, Sanders will be without a key piece.<\/p>\n

\"Cleveland<\/p>\n

Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12)Barry Reeger-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

(Barry Reeger-Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

David Njoku was selected by the Browns with the No. 29 pick in the 2017 NFL Draft after a three-year college career at Miami. The tight end has been a consistent presence in Cleveland over the past nine seasons, totaling 384 catches for 4,062 yards and 34 touchdowns.<\/p>\n

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But during the second half of the 2025 season, Njoku dealt with a knee injury that forced him to miss the final four games, opening the door for rookie tight end Harold Fannin Jr. to take on a larger role in the Browns\u2019 offense. And after the season, Njoku\u2019s four-year, $54.75 million contract expired, making him a free agent.<\/p>\n

On Monday, Njoku confirmed it was time for a change, announcing he would not return to Cleveland for a 10th season, leaving Sanders and the Browns without a key offensive weapon heading into the 2026 season and beyond.<\/p>\n

“Cleveland, first off I love you,” Njoku wrote on Instagram. “These 9 years have been a beautiful journey. I\u2019m am so grateful for all the memories we shared together. Thank you to The Haslams, Andrew Berry and the whole browns organization for everything!! All my teammates I shared the battle with I\u2019m so grateful for you guys. The time for me to find a new home has come and all I can think of is just the gratefulness in my heart. The city of Cleveland will forever be home\u2764\ufe0f #ChiefOut”<\/p>\n

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Njoku\u2019s exit is not great news for Sanders or the Browns, as the veteran tight end served as a trusted pass-catcher and key red-zone target while building chemistry with the rookie quarterback. Even in an injury-shortened 2025 season, Njoku still provided a veteran presence that helped Sanders stay composed in high-pressure situations.<\/p>\n

With Njoku gone, Fannin Jr. is now in line to continue as the team\u2019s top tight end<\/a>. But even with a promising rookie year, the rookie remains far less proven, creating a drop-off in experience and consistency. And the change also thins Cleveland’s passing options, potentially impacting Sanders in 2026 as he continues to develop.<\/p>\n

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Related: Chiefs\u2019 Travis Kelce Sends Message to Seahawks TE After Super Bowl LX<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally published by Athlon Sports<\/a> on Feb 10, 2026, where it first appeared in the NFL<\/a> section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Shedeur Sanders and the Cleveland Browns did not have the 2025 NFL season they were hoping for, finishing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":742084,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2054],"tags":[86,85,54,2337,4131,1033,7,795,562,216,6,17,582],"class_list":{"0":"post-742083","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cleveland-browns","8":"tag-browns","9":"tag-cleveland","10":"tag-cleveland-browns","11":"tag-clevelandbrowns","12":"tag-david-njoku","13":"tag-dillon-gabriel","14":"tag-football","15":"tag-harold-fannin-jr","16":"tag-joe-flacco","17":"tag-miami","18":"tag-nfl","19":"tag-shedeur-sanders","20":"tag-the-browns"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116045458161952629","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/742083","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=742083"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/742083\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/742084"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=742083"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=742083"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=742083"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}