CLEVELAND — As the Cleveland Browns head into the offseason, wrapping up their season with a win over the Bengals Sunday but missing the playoffs, the team now looks ahead to the 2022 season—and one player in particular hopes that he can be a part of it.
Tight end David Njoku is set to become a free agent, but as he mentioned earlier in the year, he wants to re-sign with the Browns.
"I love it here. I love it here to the core. I honestly want to be here for the rest of my career," Njoku said Monday.
This season, Njoku missed just one game, being placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 before the Week 14 game against the Baltimore Ravens. He had 36 receptions for 475 yards and four touchdowns, leading the team in receiving touchdowns.
General manager Andrew Berry has been working throughout the season to retain core players on the team, signing contract extensions with offensive linemen Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller, as well as running back Nick Chubb.
Njoku said that his agents are in discussions with the Browns about what an extension might look like for him to see if they can get a deal done.
His teammates are also excited for the potential return of their leading tight end.
"They're excited and hopeful that we do come to an agreement and I end up staying here," Njoku said. "We're all excited. These are exciting times, a lot of blood, sweat and tears that was put into these last few years, and I owe it all to God and we've got to keep working."
For Njoku, that work doesn't slow down while he waits to see if his agents can get a deal done.
Earlier in the season, Njoku expressed a desire to focus on his blocking abilities this season—an area that all of the tight ends were heavy on in practice and training throughout the year. This offseason, the work will have to continue, Njoku said.
"Consistent work. I'd say when it comes to run blocking or blocking in that manner, it's a mentality thing. So, with the right mentality and all the work you put in, you have to be successful. It's impossible not to be," Njoku said. "It's just is back to work for us. We're professionals here, this is our job. So we've been doing this for a very long time and we're just going to keep following what we do and this work, and good things will happen. But we got to put in the work."
And while he waits to see what the future holds for him in Cleveland, Njoku said there's one thing the team is focused on.
"It's our dream to bring a championship here in Cleveland, so there's no question we have unfinished business," Njoku said. "It's a tough pill to swallow right now because we know how good we were on the roster, we knew the talent that we had, but we just couldn't put it all together for whatever reason. We've got to reflect, evaluate ourselves and our team and figure out what we can do to put our best foot forward in the upcoming future."
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Camryn Justice is a digital content producer at News 5 Cleveland. Follow her on Twitter @camijustice.
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