Njoku caught his lone target for seven yards in Sunday's 26-24 win over the Panthers. He had one other catch nullified by a penalty.
Njoku took over the top tight end job after the Browns let Austin Hooper walk during the offseason, and expectations were high after he signed a four-year, $55 million contract last May. Njoku played 71 snaps, the most among all Cleveland pass-catchers, but the target-to-snap ratio was poor. Fellow tight end Harrison Bryant caught two of four targets for 18 yards while playing 38 snaps. As was expected with Jacoby Brissett at quarterback instead of Deshaun Watson (suspension), the Browns' offense featured more runs (39) than passes (34), and 11 of Brissett's attempts came on the final two drives. Until that point, the offense was carried by Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. It may be difficult to rely on any Cleveland receiver until Watson returns.