A desire to add new players after a 2-6 start to the 2025 season might not be enough to convince the Cleveland Browns to consider trading tight end David Njoku.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Browns are looking for young talent but “do not sound inclined to trade” Njoku ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline.
Schefter added that “most sources believe that the Browns will be aggressive in acquiring players before the deadline.”
The Browns have already “been calling around the league looking to add quality young players to their roster,” according to Schefter.
Cleveland has already been busy in the month leading up to the deadline, during which the franchise acquired offensive tackle Cam Robinson and cornerback Tyson Campbell while sending out Greg Newsome II and Joe Flacco.
Njoku is a 2017 first-round pick and a 2023 Pro Bowler who is playing in his ninth season with the Browns.
The 29-year-old has recorded 27 catches for 260 yards with two receiving touchdowns in seven games of the 2025 season.
His status as the Browns’ top tight end option has been called into question by the emergence of rookie Harold Fannin Jr., who leads the Cleveland receiving corps with 38 catches for 352 receiving yards and two touchdowns in eight games.
Keeping Njoku in Cleveland past the deadline also risks the possibility he could hit free agency when his contract expires after 2025.
Cleveland.com’s Mary Kat Cabot wrote last Sunday that the Browns “have no intentions of trading Njoku before the deadline” despite his contract status.
“The Browns will probably extend Njoku before his contract is up in March, or let him test the market to help set his price,” Cabot wrote. “It seems to me that Njoku wants to finish his career here and that the Browns would like to have him back.”
Cabot added, however, that the Browns would “listen” if they received an offer for Njoku.
Sports Illustrated‘s Albert Breer meanwhile reported that “if Cleveland gets a firm offer and Njoku signs off on the idea—the team would want to do right by him” by facilitating a trade.
“That said, this is another team that wants to support its young quarterback… it’d be to get as clean a read on them as possible ahead of 2026,” Breer wrote.
It’s also not clear how much the Browns could get for Njoku, who has seen his production dip amid Cleveland’s offensive struggles over the last two years and has missed time this season with a knee injury. The Athletic’s Zac Jackson recently reported it would be “hard to see Njoku bringing back more than a fifth-round pick.”
The Browns could ultimately decide to keep Njoku around both as a veteran presence for Fannin and another passing option as Dillon Gabriel looks to gain more consistency down the stretch.
Any other moves from general manager Andrew Berry will need to take place before the trade window closes Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET.
