After nine seasons in Cleveland, veteran tight end David Njoku is joining Jim Harbaugh and the Los Angeles Chargers. The 2017 first-round pick inked a one-year deal with LA.
One of the harsh realities of the NFL is that players rarely stay with one franchise for their entire career.
For Cleveland Browns fans, that's meant saying goodbye to a few fan favorites in recent years. The latest example of that is tight end David Njoku.
After spending nine years in Cleveland, Njoku is officially headed west to sign a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Chargers, according to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network.
He joins Jim Harbaugh's squad after spending back-to-back seasons frequently sidelined by various injuries, hoping to revive his career in a prove-it situation. Njoku appeared in 23 games between 2024 and 2025.
Despite the injuries, he still managed to catch 64 passes for 505 yards and 5 touchdowns in the former campaign. The latter one came with a sharp dropoff, though, as Njoku had just 33 receptions for 293 yards and 4 scores this past fall.
The drop in production, combined with the uptick in injuries, made Njoku an easy post-June 1 cut candidate this offseason, which Cleveland executed back in March. He'll count against the Browns salary cap $10.8 million in 2026, despite not being on the roster.
None of that erases how popular the exuberant tight end was among Cleveland fans. Drafted by the franchise in the first round of the 2017 draft, Njoku went through plenty of ups and downs throughout his time in Northeast Ohio.
After the team hired Kevin Stefanski to be head coach in 2020, and added veteran tight end Austin Hooper in free agency in the same offseason, Njoku requested a trade out of the organization. It was ultimately denied, and actually paved the way for Njoku and Stefanski to eventually mend fences and develop a mutual respect for one another, despite not necessarily seeing eye-to-eye early on in their time together.
That's one of the many reasons Njoku has spoken so glowingly about his experience in Cleveland and how it helped mold him into the man he is today. His love for the city helped endear him to fans, who he had plenty of memorable interactions with over the years.
Most notably, when the Browns clinched a playoff berth on Thursday night football in late December of 2023, Njoku wound up in the infamous Muni Lot afterwards taking shots with a group of fans to celebrate.
Njoku follows another fan favorite in Nick Chubb, who have both, unfortunately, left the franchise due to injuries and a drop in production in recent years. In some respects, that duo's departure over the last two offseasons represents the end of an era in Cleveland.
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