What It Means:

The Browns believe Njoku can still have a productive year with the team, but a source also tells Anderson that Njoku has "wanted out" of Cleveland for an extended period of time. This comes after a weekend report that Njoku requested to be traded. The Browns exercised Njoku's fifth-year option in April, but they also added Austin Hooper in free agency and spent a fourth-round pick on Harrison Bryant. Njoku was targeted just 10 times in four appearances last year in a season that started with a thumb fracture in Week 1. Despite the Browns' claim, a trade would likely be a significant upgrade for Njoku's fantasy value.

Njoku is the TE37 in numberFire's preseason fantasy rankings. Our models project him for 40.2 targets, 23.8 receptions, 265.1 yards, and 2.2 touchdowns. Njoku's 4.1 yards per target last season was fourth-fewest out of 83 tight ends with at least 10 targets. He's been below-average in numberFire's advanced per-target receiving metric all three of his years in the league.