Browns pick up options on Myles Garrett, David Njoku

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Browns exercised the fifth-year contract options on star defensive end Myles Garrett and tight end David Njoku on Monday.

The decision on Garrett was not a surprise, but Njoku’s future seemed uncertain following several offseason moves by the team.

Garrett was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 draft. He’s developed into the one of the NFL’s premiere pass rushers — he had 13½ sacks in 2018 and seven as a rookie — and was on his way to another big season in 2019 before he was indefinitely suspended for striking Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph in the head with a swung helmet in a Nov. 14 game.

Garrett claimed Rudolph used a racial slur, which prompted his uncharacteristic outburst. He missed Cleveland’s final six games and was reinstated by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in February.

Njoku, who was taken with the No. 29 pick in 2017, missed 10 games last season after breaking his wrist, and his days in Cleveland appeared numbered when the Browns signed free agent Austin Hooper and then drafted Harrison Bryant, the John Mackey Award winner, Saturday.

But Browns general manager Andrew Berry and coach Kevin Stefanski said they feel Njoku can still be productive.

“We still have a ton of belief in David, and he is very talented,” Berry said following the draft. “Obviously, he was not on the field much last year but he is a guy with outstanding physical tools, he has proven NFL production and we still think the future is very bright with him here.”

Njoku had 56 catches for 639 yards and four touchdowns in 2018. As a rookie, he caught 32 passes and scored four TDs.

The Browns were approaching a deadline on the fifth-year options for Garrett and Njoku. First-round picks sign four-year contracts, and the team has to decide whether to pick up the fifth-year option before the fourth season.