The 2-5 Cleveland Browns have a daunting matchup on Sunday at New England, who are on a four-game winning streak and have shown signs of being one of the legitimate up-and-coming contenders in the AFC behind new head coach Mike Vrabel and emerging young star quarterback Drake Maye and his 75-percent completion rate.
While the Browns have some momentum coming off a 31-6 blowout against the Miami Dolphins, the reality is that they have already traded away two key veterans in Joe Flacco and Greg Newsome, which could be a sign of things to come.
During a recent episode of The Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show, The Athletic’s Jason Lloyd discussed the possibility that tight end David Njoku could be the next Browns player on the move — and that Sunday’s game might be his last in a Browns uniform.
“I have thought Njoku was a pretty strong trade candidate because I just look at Greg Newsome. He’s in the last year of his deal. Typically if the Browns want you, it doesn’t get to the last year of the deal. We saw it with Amari Cooper. We saw it with Greg Newsome a few weeks ago…The reason why he may not get traded is because he’s not having a great year,” Lloyd said.
He also noted that Njoku is heavier and looks slower this year, and also wondered if it’s worth it to trade Njoku if all he is going to get in return is a sixth or seventh-round pick.
With how exciting Harold Fannin Jr. has looked as a rookie, it would appear that the writing is on the wall for Njoku, especially in a contract year.
That being said, Lloyd made a great point in suggesting his trade value might have cratered with his performance and injuries thus far.
His presence helps make things easier for the rookie quarterbacks, so it might not be worth dumping him for a seventh-rounder if it’s going to hurt Dillon Gabriel’s development.
Hopefully, he has a big game in store on Sunday to help out his young quarterback and potentially boost his trade value if the Browns opt to go that route.
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