Browns’ David Njoku gets candid on inspiring burn victims after suffering near-fatal fire accident during NFL season
David Njoku had a memorable 2023-24 season.
The Cleveland Browns tight end set career-highs in games started (16), receptions (81), receiving yards (882) and receiving touchdowns (six). He was also nominated to his first-ever Pro Bowl and helped the team reach the playoffs.
However, all of that almost never happened. Two days before their Week 4 game against the Baltimore Ravens, he sustained burns to his hands and face when a bonfire he was setting up in his home went awry.
He would still go on to play that game though, being the Browns' leading receiver with six catches for 46 yards; and he soon became a spokesperson for the American Burns Association.
Reflecting on the experience on Thursday on "Up & Adams", Njoku told host Kay Adams:
“No one really knew how drastic it was until I revealed the pictures and everything. When I did that, burn victims, nurses that had burn victims, they reached out, first of all, thanking me for showing the pictures and the drastic videos explaining what happened, because it's not easy to be transparent."
He further said that his physical deformation would not deter him from reaching out to people:
"When things like that happen, your face looks a lot different. So whatever happens, emotionally or physically, it can be a bit extreme. But honestly, I wasn't really focused on how I looked. I knew what in total is going to heal.
"But I think it really encouraged and brought light to the burn victims and everything. So, it was much appreciated that they were encouraged by what I did, or how I reacted to the situation.”
David Njoku discusses relationship with Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski
In the same podcast appearance, David Njoku was asked about how he saw head coach Kevin Stefanski.
When the former Minnesota Vikings assistant arrived at the Cleveland Browns in 2020, the veteran tight end was coming off an injury-derailed third season. Since then, he has steadily progressed; but according to him, their relationship did not have the best of starts:
"[During] his first year, I was trying to leave, and it was a bunch of turmoil, [drama] that wasn't really necessary at the time, but I felt like it was much needed to happen to build our relationship... I had an exit meeting with him a couple days ago, and the first thing we talked about was how crazy this all transpired."
2024 marks the last year of Stefanski's current contract with the Browns, and the penultimate one of Njoku's.