Browns Tight End Returns at Thursday Practice

The Cleveland Brown host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 12, and they should have one of their premier offensive weapons available when they take the field. Tight end David Njoku participated at practice Thursday after missing Wednesday's session with knee and ankle injuries.

#Browns vs. Buccaneers injury/participation report.

D'Anthony Bell returns–limited–from concussion protocol, David Njoku back to limited work, Perrion Winfrey back to full practice from concussion protocol. pic.twitter.com/9M6veVQ9G9
— Camryn Justice (@camijustice) November 24, 2022

Njoku made his return from injury last week in the Browns' Week 11 31-23 loss to the Buffalo Bills, nabbing two of his three targets for 17 yards. He had missed the previous two games due to his injuries, so his unavailability on Wednesday raised concerns that he'd aggravated one or both of his ailments.

Njoku was in the middle of a career year before his unfortunate Week 7 exit, totalling 418 yards across his first seven starts. With 54.4 yards per game this year, he remains on pace to crush his career-high of 639 receiving yards in a season. The Browns will need him at the peak of his powers if they want to move the ball against the Bucs' sixth-ranked scoring defense.

Njoku initially joined the Browns as their 29th overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. He accumulated a modest 1754 receiving yards with the team across his first five seasons, but the Browns still saw fit to reward him with a four-year, $54.75 million deal that placed him among the league's highest-paid tight ends earlier this year. He has rewarded their investment this season.