Njoku (hamstring) didn't participate in the open portion of Thursday's practice, Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

Njoku missed Wednesday's practice, so what the tight end is able to do, if anything, during Friday's session will be telling with regard to his chances of returning to action Sunday against the Bengals. If Njoku remains sidelined this weekend, Jordan Akins would be in line to continue to have an expanded role in the Browns passing game.