Exclusive: Cowboys Shoot Down Rumor Of Trading For Browns TE Njoku
FRISCO - The suddenly crowded tight ends room in Cleveland has budding star David Njoku demanding a trade from the Browns, per new agent Drew Rosenhaus.
"It is in David's best interest to find a new team at this time," Rosenhaus told ESPN.
But the Dallas Cowboys having expressed interest as a "potential suitor'' for the 23-year-old Njoku? That much, according to two CowboysSI.com sources inside The Star, is fiction.
"That,'' one source told us as the Friday news broke, "sounds like an agent creation.''
Added a second source: "Nope. No interest.''
Rosenhaus, of course, is one of the best in the business in terms of stirring up attention for clients. And whispering to a prominent media outlet — whether it's ESPN or Cleveland.com — about a connection with the Cowboys is an outstanding way to "stir things up.''
Dallas just made a commitment to a young tight end in which it believes in Blake Jarwin. The Cowboys also signed blocking tight end Blake Bell, formerly a part-time starter with the Chiefs, and also have recent draftee Dalton Schultz on the roster. None of that means Njoku, a former first-round pick, might not represent an upgrade. And as he's scheduled to make $2.6 million this year and a little over $6 million in 2021—the price (in terms of salary) is not outrageous.
But there is another "price.'' The story out of Cleveland also suggests that the Browns will be asking for a first-round draft pick in return in a trade. And such a thing has never been discussed inside The Star, according to sources.
In fact, when asked by CowboysSI.com, the Cowboys front office didn't appear to be aware that Njoku is now represented by Rosenhaus. (The player changed his representation two days ago.) You would think that if Dallas is in the middle of fishing around for a deal involving Njoku and Rosenhaus, an agent whom this organization knows well, that Dallas would at least know that Rosenhaus is actually the agent of their "target." But they did not.
That's not an indictment of the front office; it's a hint that "the Njoku thing'' is news to them.
"It's all quiet here on this idea,'' the Cowboys source said Friday.
That hasn't stopped wild speculation that Dallas might offer a trade chip in cornerback Chidobe Awuzie. But that speculation, again, isn't coming from Frisco. And while this is a never-say-never business, the fact that all of these Njoku-to-Dallas reports were news to the Cowboys likely means that there's not much to it.
