About a month into 2026 free agency, David Njoku is still on the market, and the Browns’ tight end situation looks more unsettled than it did when the offseason began. Cleveland entered the spring with 26 total pending free agents, but less than two weeks before the NFL Draft, 14 of them were still stuck in free-agent limbo, including Njoku.
The Browns have already done a fair amount of sorting. A handful of their pending free agents re-signed, a few landed deals elsewhere and the team’s most prominent external additions have been guards Zion Johnson and Elgton Jenkins and linebacker Quincy Williams. Their biggest retention move was reserve offensive lineman Teven Jenkins, who came back on a one-year, $4 million contract. Even with that movement, Njoku’s future never crystalized, and the market around him has stayed cool despite a visit to the Baltimore Ravens and rumored interest from the Miami Dolphins.
That is a notable turn for a player who has been one of Cleveland’s most recognizable offensive pieces. The Browns have an obvious void at No. 2 tight end behind Harold Fannin Jr., but the emergence of Fannin steered them away from giving Njoku a multi-year extension this offseason. Now, with the draft close, the team may have its sights set on finding a replacement there instead of forcing a long-term commitment on a veteran they have not locked in.
The rest of Cleveland’s tight end picture only sharpens that possibility. Blake Whiteheart and Jack Stoll are behind Fannin on the depth chart, which leaves the Browns thin if they decide not to bring Njoku back or if his market never improves. That would push the team toward a draft answer, a route that fits the way the offseason has already gone.
Njoku’s status also sits inside a broader pattern in Cleveland. The Browns entered 2026 free agency with 26 pending free agents and have not fully settled the roster, even after a series of re-signings and outside additions. Some players stayed, some left and most remained in between. Njoku has simply become the most visible example of that drift.
Elsewhere on the depth chart, the club’s direction has already made another veteran tight end expendable. Conklin is entering his age-32 season, and after being limited to 21 games over his final three years in Cleveland because of injuries, his time with the Browns is almost certainly over after the team swung a trade with Houston for Tytus Howard this offseason. Between that move and the uncertainty around Njoku, the Browns’ tight end room now looks like a spot they may attack again before the roster is set.
For now, Njoku remains unsigned while the Browns keep looking for ways to fill the gaps left by a busy spring. With the draft nearing, the question is no longer whether Cleveland has room to add a tight end. It is whether the one it already knows will still be there when the market finally moves.
