BEREA — Tight end David Njoku jumped around during stretching. He worked on staying low as a blocker. He ran routes and caught passes.
Njoku returned to practice and was designated to return from injured reserve after missing eight games with a broken right wrist. He was injured in a dangerous fall against the Jets on Sept. 16 in which he also sustained a concussion.
He isn’t sure he would’ve been able to return this quickly if he hadn’t changed his mind and had surgery to insert a screw in the wrist.
“I’m very impatient. When I want something, I want it right now,” Njoku said. “Without surgery, it looked like it would make me wait a little bit. I didn’t have time for that.
“It worked out perfectly. It healed amazing fast, and here I am.”
Njoku says he’s thankful to be alive after “cheap shot”
He’s eligible to return Sunday against the Dolphins.
“It was really exciting to catch the ball again finally and run routes,” he said. “I think I’m game-ready right now.”
Coach Freddie Kitchens said before practice he would need to be convinced.
“I don’t know what kind of condition he’s in. I don’t know where he’s at mentally,” he said. “Sometimes you just have to put ‘em out there and see how they do.
“If he can play two plays, that’s not going to help us at all. So we’ll see.”
Njoku, a first-round pick in 2017, has started 20 of 34 games for the Browns, totaling 92 catches for 1,062 yards and nine touchdowns. He started one of two games this year, with four catches for 37 yards and a touchdown.
