The Cleveland Browns have added a new tight end after news broke that David Njoku is likely to miss multiple games with an ankle injury.
Cleveland added 10-year veteran Geoff Swaim — formerly of the Dallas Cowboys, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans and Arizona Cardinals — to the practice squad on Tuesday, September 10, per a report from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
“#Browns are signing veteran tight end Geoff Swaim to the practice squad, per source,” Fowler wrote on X. “Insurance for Cleveland’s depleted TE room.”
Swaim has played in 100 NFL games and earned a total of 65 starts. He has amassed 110 receptions for 846 yards and 6 TDs, per Pro Football Reference.
The two best seasons of Swaim’s career came in 2018 with the Cowboys, when he made 26 catches for 242 yards and 1 TD, and with the the Titans in 2021, when the tight end hauled in a career-high 31 receptions for 210 yards and a career-high 3 TDs.
David Njoku to Miss Multiple Games With What Is Likely High Ankle Sprain
Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reported on Monday that Njoku will probably miss multiple games due to an ankle injury he sustained during the Browns’ season opener against the Cowboys.
“He’s expected to miss at least a couple of games with the injury, which didn’t look good on Sunday night when he hobbled out in a right walking boot,” Cabot wrote.
Jordan Akins is the second-string tight end on the Browns’ depth chart and presumably the next man up in Njoku’s absence. Akins has been with the team since 2023, appearing in all 18 regular-season games during that span. He has tallied 18 catches for 159 yards in Cleveland.
Tight ends Blake Whiteheart and Cameron Latu were both on the Browns’ practice squad as of last week, according to a report from Yahoo Sports.
Either Swaim, Whiteheart or Latu — or potentially even two of the three — will elevate to the active roster before the end of the week and suit up against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Florida next Sunday.
Browns Must Improve Passing Game Quickly or Consider Alternatives to QB Deshaun Watson
Njoku’s loss is magnified by how poorly the Browns offense played in general against Dallas on Sunday, with a specific focus on yet another below-average performance from quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Watson threw for 169 yards, 1 TD and 2 INTs in just his 13th start for the team since landing in Cleveland in March 2022. Following the game, former NFL quarterback and current analyst Dan Orlovsky suggested that the Browns seriously consider a switch to backup Jameis Winston as early as this week.
“Quarterback is a problem in Cleveland,” Orlovsky said on Monday’s edition of “Get Up” on ESPN. “And if I was [head coach] Kevin Stefanski, I’d be thinking long and hard about Jameis Winston and moving him to be my starting quarterback.”
Winston was the No. 1 overall pick in 2015 and has north of 22,000 passing yards, 141 TDs and 99 INTs over the course of his nine-year professional career.
