David Njoku back at practice for Cleveland Browns, eyes Bengals game
BEREA − David Njoku was back at practice on Wednesday for the Browns. The tight end expressed confidence he would also be back on the field this Sunday when they travel to Cincinnati to face the Bengals.
“I feel good,” Njoku said prior to practice.
Njoku missed all of last week’s practice leading into the win over Houston due to a knee injury. He was ruled out of the Texans game last Friday, although he did travel with the team to Houston.
The injury occurred when Njoku was dropped for a 1-yard loss late in regulation during the Nov. 27 overtime win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. On the very next play, he pulled in a one-handed 12-yard touchdown catch from Jacoby Brissett with 32 seconds remaining to tie the game.
“I was kind of excited so I didn’t really feel it too much on that play,” Njoku said, “but felt it the play before. It is what it is. It’s a physical sport.”
Not only did Njoku finish out the game, he also managed to walk away with the jersey of a legend. After the game, he located Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady on the field and convinced him to send him a signed jersey.
For Njoku, that jersey was almost as big a deal as the touchdown catch in terms of memories.
“I told him on the field, ‘Listen dawg, you’re my idol but I’m not leaving this field until I get this jersey,’” Njoku said, “and he laughed it off. He said, ‘I promise you I’ll mail you one,’ so I was like ‘alright I’m taking your word for it’ and he did so I was happy.”
The Buccaneers game is one of only two in which Njoku has played in since Oct. 23. That’s after he opened the season looking like he was on a career-year trajectory.
A high ankle sprain sustained in the third quarter of the Week 7 loss at Baltimore cost Njoku the two games, the Browns’ home win over Cincinnati in Week 8 and, following the bye week, their Week 10 loss at Miami. He did return on a limited snap count in the loss to Buffalo, before playing the duration of the Tampa Bay game.
Njoku had five catches on seven targets for 29 yards against the Buccaneers. For the season, he’s caught 41 passes for 464 yards and two touchdowns.
The injury, though, prevented Njoku from being on the field for Deshaun Watson’s Browns debut in Houston. Watson, through his career, has targeted tight ends quite a bit, especially in the red zone.
“Very excited,” Njoku said of playing with Watson. “We started a little bit in camp, OTAs and everything. Now we’re just going to keep on rolling.”
Sione Takitaki to injured reserve, Reggie Ragland signed to roster
Sione Takitaki was placed on injured reserve by the Browns on Wednesday morning. To fill the void created by that move, they also signed veteran linebacker Reggie Ragland to the roster.
Takitaki sustained a season-ending torn ACL while covering a punt in the fourth quarter of the Browns’ 27-14 win at Houston last Sunday. He was the team’s second-leading tackler on the season with 69 combined tackles, two behind safety Grant Delpit.
Ragland was on the practice squad for the Las Vegas Raiders prior to being signed by the Browns. The former University of Alabama product was a 2016 second-round pick of the Buffalo Bills, although he spent that first season on injured reserve before being dealt to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2017.
After three seasons in Kansas City, Ragland spent one season each with the Detroit Lions (2020) and New York Giants (2021). He’s appeared in 75 career games with 47 start, recording 276 tackles, 3.5 sacks, two fumble recoveries, one forced fumble and one interception.
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