Getty Cleveland Browns tight end David Njoku and head coach Kevin Stefanski.
It’s no secret that Cleveland Browns tight end David Njoku hasn’t always been happy with the franchise that selected him with the 29th overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft.
Nor has he always been on the same page as head coach Kevin Stefanski, a once-rocky relationship he discussed on the January 18 episode of “Up & Adams” with host Kay Adams.
Njoku said his relationship with his head coach is “night and day from when [Stefanski] first got here” in 2020, which is also the year the then-fourth-year player requested a trade.
Njoku said his relationship with Stefanski is so strong now that the two were even able to joke about the trade request in his exit interview in the days following the Browns’ 45-14 Wild Card Round loss to the Houston Texans.
David Njoku Says Trade Request Helped Build His Bond With Kevin Stefanski
Cleveland Browns fans gotta love this.
Njoku on his relationship with Kevin Stefanski.
After spending his first three seasons playing for three different head coaches, the New Jersey native played for a fourth coach in 2020 — Stefanski, who completely turned the team around and led the Browns to an 11-5 record and the franchise’s first postseason berth in 18 years.
But Njoku wasn’t an integral part of the team’s success, as Cleveland had signed two-time Pro Bowl tight end Austin Hooper to a four-year, $42 million contract prior to the season and had also selected Harrison Bryant in the fourth round of the 2020 draft.
Njoku, who only appeared in four games in 2019 due to missing three months of action with a broken wrist, requested a trade that was never granted and only caught 19 passes for 213 yards in 2020.
The now-27-year-old told Kay about that first season with Stefanski and how the initial animosity between the two may have helped get them to where they are now.
“You know, obviously, his first year, I was trying to leave, and it was a bunch of just turmoil, a bunch of dramatic things that wasn’t really necessary at the time,” Njoku said. “But I felt like it was much needed to happen to build our relationship as strong as it is now. It’s like a 180.
“I had an exit meeting with him a couple days ago and that was the first thing we talked about was how crazy this all like transpired.”
Njoku Says He & Stefanski Still ‘Have More Work to Do’
While Njoku’s desire to leave Cleveland rolled over into the 2021 season, Stefanski upped his playing time and started him in 11 of 16 games, thus resulting in the Miami product’s best season in three years, which, in turn, led to Hooper’s release.
Njoku improved again in 2022 while playing under the franchise tag, earning him a four-year, $56.75 million extension. And this past year, he had his best campaign to date, recording career-highs in receptions (81), yardage (882), and touchdowns (6) while leading all tight ends in yards after catch (599) to earn his first trip to the Pro Bowl.
#Browns David Njoku on making his first Pro Bowl
But despite his individual success, Njoku, continuing his conversation with Adams about his relationship with Stefanski, is clearly disappointed about how the Browns’ season ended.
“You know, it’s really like a beautiful story, but the story’s not finished yet, you know what I mean? We’ve got a long way to go. We got a lot of more work to do,” Njoku said.
“We’re going to take a few weeks or so just to decompress and get away, but each time we fall short, it makes me and the team that much more hungry to achieve what we came here for.”