BEREA, Ohio — The Cleveland Browns exercised fifth-year options on both Myles Garrett and David Njkou’s contracts Monday.
Garrett and Njoku, who were both first-round picks in 2017, will now be under contract through the 2021 season.
In his three seasons, Garrett has brought an explosive pass-rush to the team, racking up 30.5 sacks, 104 tackles and six forced fumbles in that time. Garrett was the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft and earned Pro-Bowl honors the following year. Last season, Garrett recorded 10 sacks in the first 10 games of the season before being suspended for the remainder of the season following a fight in the Browns-Steelers game in Cleveland.
It wasn’t much of a question if the Browns would exercise Garrett’s fifth-year option, but Njoku’s future was a little less certain, especially with the addition of Austin Hooper from free agency and Harrison Bryant in the draft joining Stephen Carlson and Pharaoh Brown, who remained on the team from last season.
While the tight end room is filling up, new head coach Kevin Stefanski is known for his heavy use of tight ends. His offense in Minnesota ran more two-tight end formations than any other team in the league last season. To run an offense that frequently uses multiple tight ends requires strong depth at the position, so picking up Njoku’s fifth-year option makes sense.
Njoku, the Browns' 29th overall pick in 2017, has recorded 1,066 receiving yards and nine touchdowns in his three seasons in Cleveland. The tight end played his best season in 2018, catching 56 passes for 649 yards and four touchdowns. Unfortunately, Njoku spent the majority of last season on injured reserve after suffering a wrist injury in Week 2.
