UNDATED (AP) — David Njoku has gone from wanting out of the Cleveland Browns to locking in with them. Cleveland announced Njoku’s four-year, $56.75 million contract extension on Wednesday, a deal that could take the tight end through the 2027 season.
A first-round draft pick in 2017, Njoku will be among the NFL’s highest-paid tight ends without putting up elite statistics. He caught 36 passes for 475 yards and a team-high four touchdowns last season. But the Browns believe the 25-year-old Njoku is just reaching his prime and could be on the verge of a breakout, which is why they invested in him.
In other NFL news:
— The Carolina Panthers’ proposed $800 million practice facility project in Rock Hill, South Carolina, is officially dead after team owner David Tepper’s real estate company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware on Wednesday night. Tepper, who made billions in hedge funds, is the NFL’s wealthiest owner. The filing will not affect the NFL’s Panthers or Major League Soccer’s Charlotte FC in any way. It’s unclear at this point what will happen to the half-built practice facility. Tepper has invested more than $175 million into the facility, which is located about 25 miles south of the team’s current downtown stadium and headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina.
— Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray returned to the practice field today after a couple of months of off-the-field drama. The quarterback has been in a passive-aggressive contract spat with Arizona management and even wiped his social media accounts of any Cardinals references at one point. Murray is entering the fourth year of his rookie contract and wants a new long-term deal.
— The Minnesota Vikings have signed eight-year veteran wide receiver Albert Wilson. He provides an experienced option for more depth at the position. The 5-foot-9, 195-pound Wilson spent the past four seasons with the Miami Dolphins. Wilson had a career-high 554 yards with three scores in 13 games in 2017. Wilson was undrafted out of Georgia State.
— Veteran defensive tackle Akiem Hicks has signed a one-year contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The 32-year-old Hicks is likely to become a replacement for Ndamukong Suh, who is a free agent after spending the past three seasons on one-year deals with Tampa Bay. Hicks played the past six years with the Chicago Bears, starting all 77 games he appeared in and had 31 sacks.
— Stephon Tuitt’s NFL career is over. The Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman has retired from the NFL at age 29. Tuitt had 34 1/2 sacks in eight seasons with the Steelers. He did not play last season after his brother Richard Bartlett III was killed in a hit and run in Georgia.
— The U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform has invited NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder to appear at a hearing later this month. Committee members say they sent letters to the league and team requesting Goodell and Snyder appear June 22. Congress launched an investigation into the organization’s workplace culture last year after the league declined to release a report about an independent review it oversaw that led to a $10 million fine.
— The Atlanta Falcons are bringing back their red helmets for their throwback uniforms this season. The Falcons have announced they will bring back the red helmets with black jerseys for the first time since 2012. The team will wear the combination, which pays tribute to their first uniform in 1966, when they play the San Francisco 49ers in a home game on Oct. 16. The Falcons wore this version of the red helmet from 1966 to 1969 before removing the gold trim. The Falcons brought back the combination in 2009 and wore the uniform twice each season until 2013.
— The Dallas Cowboys say former running back Marion Barber III has died. He was 38. Barber scored plenty of touchdowns without recording a 1,000-yard season. He played a final season with Chicago in 2011 after spending his first six years with the Cowboys. He had issues with mental health after his career. Police in the Dallas suburb of Frisco say they made a welfare check at an apartment “believed to be leased” to Barber and were investigating an unattended death there.
