Cleveland Browns Tight End to Miss Week 13

Cleveland Browns tight end David Njoku made one of the touchdown catches of the year in his team's 23-17 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but it may have cost him. Njoku missed his third straight practice on Friday with a knee injury and has been declared out for Sunday's Week 13 matchup against the Houston Texans.

#Browns TE David Njoku (knee) not practicing, likely to miss Sunday.

— Tom Withers (@twithersAP) December 2, 2022

#browns TE David Njoku (knee) ruled out for Sunday

— Jake Trotter (@Jake_Trotter) December 2, 2022

Njoku nabbed five of his seven targets for 29 yards in the Browns' win over the Bucs. He missed two games earlier this season with an ankle injury. Week 12 was his first time playing more than 30 snaps since Week 7.

Njoku's injury is an unfortunate development in what had been shaping up to be a career year for the tight end. He has averaged 51.6 receiving yards per game and 8.9 yards per target this season. He'll miss quarterback Deshaun Watson's debut against his former team the Houston Texans this week and could miss future games as well.

Njoku initially joined the Browns as their 29th overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. He totalled a relatively modest 1754 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns with the team over the first five years of his career, but the Browns still saw fit to make him one of the league's highest-paid tight ends earlier this year with a four-year, $54.75 million deal. Njoku had been rewarding their investment before injuries derailed his season.

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