The Browns were blown out by the Cowboys on Sunday and now they’re also dealing with an injury concern to one of their best offensive players.
According to multiple reporters on the scene, tight end David Njoku was spotted wearing a walking boot on his right foot after injuring his ankle during the game.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski said in his postgame press conference that he didn’t have an immediate update on Njoku’s status. The team is planning to have Njoku undergo further testing on Monday.
Njoku had four catches for 44 yards before exiting the game with about 10 minutes left in the third quarter.
In 2023, Njoku caught 81 passes for 992 yards with six touchdowns, earning his first Pro Bowl berth.
The Cowboys dominated the Browns in every phase, with two offensive touchdowns, a special teams touchdown, four field goals and a defense that produced six sacks and two takeaways. It was an ugly home opener for the Browns.
The Cowboys won 33-17, making a statement after an offseason of questions and angst.
The Browns offense, which was missing both starting offensive tackles, was no match for Mike Zimmer’s defense. Cleveland had only one first down, 22 plays and 54 yards in the first half and finished with 70 plays for 230 yards and 15 first downs with an average gain of 3.3 yards.
Eric Kendricks, the Cowboys’ big offseason free agent acquisition, made a team-leading nine tackles with two sacks and an interception. DeMarcus Lawrence also had two sacks, and Micah Parsons had a sack, a tipped pass that led to Kendricks’ pick and five quarterback hits.
Trevon Diggs made an interception in his first game back after tearing an ACL early last season, and DeMarvion Overshown had a sack in his first regular-season game after missing all of his rookie season with a torn ACL.
Deshaun Watson was 24-of-45 for 169 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions, and former Cowboy Amari Cooper had only two catches for 16 yards. David Njoku, who caught four passes for 44 yards, left with an ankle injury in the second half.
Dak Prescott completed 19 of 32 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown after agreeing to terms on a record-setting extension earlier in the day. CeeDee Lamb caught five passes for 61 yards after missing all of the offseason and training camp while seeking an extension he signed two weeks ago.
KaVontae Turpin returned a punt 60 yards for a touchdown early in the second half, his first career return for a touchdown, and Brandon Aubrey kicked field goals of 57, 40, 50 and 46 yards. He made a record-tying 66-yard field goal at the end of the first half that was negated by a delay of game, and the Cowboys didn’t let him attempt a 71-yarder.
But it was all Cowboys all day, reminding everyone they still have the talent to contend.
Browns tight end David Njoku was injured in the third quarter.
With five minutes gone in the second half, Njoku caught a 29-yard pass from Deshaun Watson to the Dallas 27. He took a hard tackle from both Eric Kendricks and Malik Hooker.
Njoku needed assistance to get from the sideline medical tent to the X-ray room.
He is questionable to return with an ankle injury, but his limp indicates he won’t return today.
Njoku leads the team with four catches for 44 yards.
The Browns ruled out linebacker Mohamoud Diabate with a hip injury.
The Browns scored their first touchdown on a 6-yard reception by Jerry Jeudy to cut the Cowboys’ lead to 27-10.
The Cowboys are making a statement. The Browns are making boo birds out of their fans.
Dallas is running it up on Cleveland, with KaVontae Turpin returning a punt 60 yards for a touchdown after another three-and-out by the Browns. Punter Corey Bojorquez looked like he had an angle on Turpin but didn’t come close as the last line of defense.
The Cowboys lead 27-3 with 12:59 remaining in the third quarter.
It was Turpin’s first return for a touchdown in the regular season in his career. He’s scored one rushing touchdown and three receiving touchdowns on offense.
It also was the longest return of his career, and the Cowboys’ first return for a touchdown since 2017 when Ryan Switzer had an 83-yarder against Washington.
The Browns have had six three-and-outs today, with another drive ending on the second play with an interception.
The Cowboys dominated the Browns in the first half, taking a 20-3 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Dallas outgained Cleveland 216 yards to 54, with the Browns picking up only one first down on 22 plays and going 0-for-6 on third down. Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons wreaked havoc, with two tackles, a sack, three quarterback hits and a tipped pass that Cowboys linebacker Eric Kendricks intercepted.
The Browns don’t have their starting tackles, Jedrick Wills Jr. and Jack Conklin, and Dawand Jones and James Hudson III have not held up against Mike Zimmer’s defense.
Deshaun Watson went only 7-of-15 for 36 yards and the interception, and the Browns were booed off the field at halftime.
The only thing that went wrong for the Cowboys was a 66-yard field goal by Brandon Aubrey, which would have tied Justin Tucker’s NFL record, was negated by a delay of game penalty. The Cowboys had a timeout they didn’t use, and they did not let him attempt a 71-yarder.
Dak Prescott, who agreed to a four-year, $240 million deal with $231 million guaranteed before the game, was 14-of-21 for 156 yards and a touchdown. CeeDee Lamb, who missed training camp before signing his extension two weeks ago, has four catches for 58 yards and Brandon Cooks scored on a 21-yard reception. Ezekiel Elliott has eight carries for 35 yards and a 3-yard touchdown.
The Browns have three sacks, including one by defensive player of the year Myles Garrett, against a Cowboys offensive line that started two rookies.
The Browns already knew they wouldn’t have left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr., who continues to work his way back from a knee injury. They also won’t have right tackle Jack Conklin.
The veteran, who might have started at left tackle, is inactive.
The Browns announced that Dawand Jones will start at right tackle and James Hudson III will start at left tackle. Neither is a great option with DeMarcus Lawrence and Micah Parsons as the Cowboys’ top edge rushers.
The Browns’ other inactives are quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson, cornerback Kahlef Hailassie, cornerback Myles Harden, defensive end Isaiah McGuire and offensive guard Javion Cohen. Thompson-Robinson will serve as the emergency third quarterback.
The Cowboys’ inactives are quarterback Trey Lance, cornerback Andrew Booth, linebacker Buddy Johnson, wide receiver Ryan Flournoy, tight end John Stephens Jr. and offensive tackle Matt Waletzko.
It appeared that the Cowboys and quarterback Dak Prescott had abandoned any hope of extending his contract before the start of the regular season. In recent days, the pendulum swung the other way.
Now, a night before the Week 1 game between Dallas and Cleveland, there’s a “small chance” it gets done.
That’s the latest word from a source with knowledge of the situation. And if it’s going to be officially done before 4:25 p.m. ET on Sunday, they’ll need to get an agreement in principle ASAFP, work out the language, type up the paperwork, and get Dak’s signature on the bottom line before he pivots to football mode.
Week 1 isn’t a real deadline. But if the two parties regard it that way, it is.
The final deadline comes after the 2024 season, when Prescott inches toward the open market — and when the Cowboys have no way to keep him from becoming an unrestricted free agent. Weeks if not months before then, he’ll know who wants him and how much they’ll pay.
Sure, it’s tampering. That won’t stop it from happening. The only way to prevent it is to get Dak signed ASAFP.
CeeDee Lamb is officially set to play in Sunday’s season opener.
In an expected move, the Cowboys announced on Saturday that they’ve activated Lamb off of the exempt list.
Dallas received a roster exemption for Lamb once he returned to the team from his holdout and signed a lucrative contract extension. But because the Cowboys left an open spot for Lamb on the 53-man roster, the club did not need to make a corresponding move to add the star receiver.
Lamb, 25, led the league with 135 catches last season. He finished with 1,749 yards and 12 touchdowns.
The Cowboys have also elevated linebacker Nick Vigil off of the practice squad for Sunday’s game against the Browns.
Kickoff is set for 4:25 p.m. ET on Sunday.
On Sunday, Tom Brady might be feeling a little like he did when he posed in his boxers for a photo at the Scouting Combine. There’s no net. And social media is always ready to engage in antisocial activity.
He would be great if he spoke his mind. It’s becoming more and more clear that he won’t.
Brady has previously talked about the pitfalls of criticizing players. He has tried out a workaround that entails criticizing coaching, not quarterbacks.
The real-time problem for Brady becomes obvious. He’ll have to take his actual thoughts and massage them on the fly into something less candid and authentic.
That’s not what he experienced as a player. Especially not during 20 years with Bill Belichick, who always said exactly what he believed. And Brady will likely be irritated by the fact that he has to make his takes politically palatable.
We got a taste of it on Saturday. Appearing with Joel Klatt during halftime of the Texas-Michigan game on Fox, Brady seemed at times to be searching for words as he pivoted from what he wanted to say to what he actually said.
For example, when Brady was asked about the quarterbacks who will be playing in Brady’s debut, he pulled punches when talking about Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson.
“Deshaun wants to get out there and prove that . . . Cleveland made the investment in him and that he can come through when it matters,” Brady said.
The pause was noticeable. Brady wanted to say what he was thinking. Watson has gotten a five-year fully guaranteed contract. He has failed to earn it. If he doesn’t do it this year, Cleveland needs to think about cutting him a check for $92 million and telling him to hit the bricks.
That’s what Brady likely was thinking. (If not, he should have been.) Why not just say it?
Will saying what he really thinks create some problems? Hell, yes. He’ll have to talk through some ruffled feathers. Fans will think he “hates” their team. Some in the media might call him out for being too sharp in his assessments.
Who gives a shit? Brady knows the three-word mantra from New England better than anyone. Do your job. His job isn’t to mince words. His job isn’t to make people feel good. His job is to be honest with the audience about what he sees.
Anything less than that is a disservice to the audience.
Of course, it’s entirely possible that Brady’s criticism will be misplaced, because he won’t have direct, face-to-face access to teams through practices or production meetings, given his pending effort to buy a piece of the Raiders. (Not surprisingly, that issue didn’t come up during the Saturday interview.)
That’s all the more reason for him to pick a lane. He should want to be fully informed so that he can be completely blunt and candid, whatever the consequences.
Take it from me, Tommy. I’ve been candid and blunt for 23 years. It has caused some problems. Impaired some relationships. Prompted some phone calls from 345 Park Avenue to NBC.
Again, who gives a shit? Do your job. Serve the audience.
If nothing else, it’ll keep your brain from getting twisted up in knots as you try to transmogrify what you’d like to say into what you think you should say.
The Browns have made a few additions to the roster ahead of Sunday’s game against the Cowboys.
They announced that wide receiver Jaelon Darden was signed to the active roster from the practice squad on Saturday. They also elevated cornerback Mike Ford and tackle Germain Ifedi from the practice squad.
Darden appeared in three games for the Browns over the last two seasons. He was with the team again this summer, but was waived during the cut to 53 players and signed to the practice squad.
Darden fills the roster spot that opened up when the Browns waived wide receiver David Bell this week. Bell has returned to the practice squad.
Ford was a regular on special teams for the Browns last year while Ifedi provides extra depth with Jedrick Wills out and Jack Conklin questionable to play this week.