With three weeks left until the trade deadline, the Cleveland Browns surprised many NFL fans by making two trades. First, they sent former starting quarterback Joe Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals. Shortly after, they traded cornerback Greg Newsome to the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for cornerback Tyson Campbell.
With a 1-5 record looming unless they can pull off an improbable win in Pittsburgh against the Steelers on Sunday, it’s likely more moves will be coming shortly, as one analyst recently urged the Browns to trade another key member of the team ahead of the deadline.
During a recent episode of The Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show, Jay Crawford said that rookie Harold Fannin Jr.’s performance so far has made veteran tight end David Njoku expendable.
“We can finish last with David Njoku and we can finish last without David Njoku. We’re going to get nothing for him if he walks at the end of the year. So, let’s see what value he has,” Crawford said.
Njoku is certainly going to be a popular name in the rumor mill in the coming weeks, and it makes plenty of sense for the Browns to deal him.
He has been a focal point of the offense for nine years and showed strong chemistry with Dillon Gabriel in his first start last week, but Njoku is 29 and heading into free agency in the offseason.
It’s unlikely the Browns will retain him long-term, and the presence of Fannin makes the decision to move on even easier.
Fannin has already carved into Njoku’s target share, and that’s an issue that will only shift more in Fannin’s favor as long as both of them are in town.
Cleveland isn’t a contender right now, and an accomplished veteran tight end on an expiring contract serves little purpose for this organization.
It would hurt a lot to see Njoku go, but Crawford is right.
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