Tight ends are on the move in the NFL.
Should the Cleveland Browns get in on the act?
Last month, the Miami Dolphins pulled off a trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers to send away Pro Bowl tight end Jonnu Smith (along with star cornerback Jalen Ramsey) in what was really a Miami salary dump.
Smith essentially reacted by noting the business aspect of the sport saying, "I've got no ill feelings toward Miami and nobody in the organization.''
But, he added, "I can't sit here and lie and say it didn't sting when the process was playing itself out."
Ah, emotion of the tight end. File that away for a moment.
That trade left the Dolphins with a void at the position. So in an odd twist, they somehow lured Darren Waller, 32 out of retirement. ... and then made a small trade with the New York Giants to hold his rights.
So, are we done?
Maybe not in Miami; as we recall it, Waller quit a year ago because he didn't sound like he loved football very much anymore ... so that means Waller might not work out, which could send Miami back to the drawing board.
OK, Cleveland, now you can pull out that "Tight End Emotion'' card.
“One of the top potential trade candidates for Cleveland is former Pro Bowl tight end David Njoku,'' claims SI, noting that he "is entering the final year of his contract and just watched the Browns select fellow tight end Harold Fannin Jr. in the draft.''
And we do get the logic.
The Browns are likely going nowhere. Njoku is 29. His contract is about up. His replacement has been drafted. All of it. (We would add that David played at the U of Miami, so there is a true connection in that way.)
SI does add that "actual trade speculation surrounding Njoku has been relatively tame over the last several months.''
Yes. "Tame.'' Like, nonexistent. And one of the reasons for that? Njoku is among the most vocal pro-Cleveland athletes of his generation, a Brown through and through who at some point might have to accept the reality of a bad situation ... but who we would bet at this point would rather keep fighting here than be part of the present tight end movement act.