Njoku (knee) carted off the field vs. Las Vegas

Njoku was unable to put any weight on his right leg and was carted from the field in Sunday’s loss to the Raiders. Njoku has caught six passes for 67 scoreless yards for the Chargers in his first two games with the team and led all tight ends on the roster with 25 routes run. He’ll have to miss at least the next four games now that he’s landed on IR, but we should have a better sense of his return timeline in the coming days.

Njoku logged a pass route on 19 of the team’s 31 drop backs and was third on the Chargers in targets. Oronde Gadsden, meanwhile, ran a grand total of seven routes and caught both of his targets for 32 yards. Charlie Kolar, listed as the team’s No. 1 tight end in August, was not targeted on 13 routes against Arizona. Njoku should have some deep league value as the team’s TE1 in Week 2 against the Raiders.

Way back in late May, the Athletic’s Daniel Popper suggested Kolar, who signed a three-year, $24.3 million contract with the Bolts this spring, would enter the season as LA’s top tight end “because of his complete skill set.” Week 1 usage will tell us a lot about how offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel will use his tight ends, but for now it seems Kolar will lead the group in Week 1 against the Cardinals. David Njoku and Oronde Gadsden II, however, could see more pass game involvement depending on how many routes they run in a given week, and whether the Chargers go run-heavy against an opponent. None of the Chargers’ tight ends are particularly appealing fantasy plays for Week 1.

Kolar earned QB Justin Herbert’s first target of the night on a short out route to the left. Kolar secured the pass but stumbled and was brought down just shy of the first-down marker. PFF’s Nathan Jahnke notes that Kolar shared the field with TE David Njoku on two of the first three plays, but Kolar remained on the field for the Chargers’ first 11 personnel package. Kolar looks like the Chargers’ No. 1 tight end. He was a talented prospect but has contributed sparingly as a receiver in the NFL to this point, making him a coin-toss TE2 for fantasy.

The second-year incumbent tight end is seemingly behind the Chargers’ free agent signee veteran TEs Charlie Kolar and David Njoku. Neither Kolar nor Njoku suited up this evening. Gadsden can still be viewed as a TE2/3 in best ball formats, but his current role could be undesirable for re-draft purposes.

Rhim specifically cites former Dolphins TE Jonnu Smith, who posted an 88/886/8 receiving line, while totaling 505 yards after the catch under McDaniel in 2024. McDaniel and TEs coach Chandler Henley plan to create a “run-pass conflict” for opposing defenses, which starts at the tight end position. The offense will expectedly use two-tight end sets often. Rhim notes that Njoku, 29, has “been one of the league’s best tight ends at yards after catch for the past decade,” although he “is coming off one of his worst seasons as a pro” and has been bothered by lower-body injuries recently. Whether Njoku has enough left in the tank to handle TE1 duties remains to be seen. It is worth noting that Rhim never once mentioned TE Charlie Kolar in the article, suggesting he is stuck in the TE3 spot behind Njoku and second-year TE Oronde Gadsden.

A week after visiting with the Chargers, Njoku is now set to join them on a deal that is worth up to $8 million, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. The 29-year-old tight end had one of the worst seasons of his career in 2025, as injuries and the emergence of rookie Harold Fannin resulted in Njoku catching just 33 passes for 293 yards and four touchdowns in 12 games. Injuries have slowed Njoku each of the last two seasons. He’s appeared in just 23 of a possible 34 regular-season games over that span and has averaged 8.9 YPR or fewer in both seasons. However, if he can stay healthy, he should provide another reliable weapon for Justin Herbert in the passing game. His arrival could have a negative impact on Oronde Gadsden, but given both tight ends’ ability to line up both in-line and in the slot, it also wouldn’t be surprising if the Chargers ran more two-tight-end sets

Njoku met with the Ravens two weeks ago but has drawn seemingly little interest on the free agent market, with teams content to wait until after the draft to kick the tires on the soon-to-be 30-year-old tight end. The Chargers appear to be set at the position, with breakout youngster Oronde Gadsden joined by offseason acquisition Charlie Kolar, the latter of whom has made a career of his blocking chops. New offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel hardly utilized 13-personnel during his time in Miami, instead ranking near the top of the league in 11-personnel alignments. One would think that would be unlikely to change drastically considering the state of the roster in Los Angeles, making the visit a difficult one to get a true read on for fantasy purposes.

Njoku was released by the Browns as the new league year began, designated as a post-June 1st cut. The 29-year-old spent the first nine seasons of his career in Cleveland, making a Pro Bowl in 2023 when he caught 81-of-123 targets for 882 yards and six touchdowns. Njoku played in 12 games last season as Harold Fannin Jr. slowly took over, catching 33-of-48 targets for 293 yards and four touchdowns. The Ravens are in the market for a receiving tight end after Isaiah Likely departed for the Giants. Njoku would fit into a limited role between Mark Andrews and newly-signed blocking tight end Durham Smythe if he lands in Baltimore.

Njoku was designated as a post-June 1st release, spreading out his dead cap hit over two years. The news doesn’t come as a surprise. Njoku posted a heartfelt goodbye just after the season ended, so it was only a matter of paperwork for the Browns. The age-29 tight end is now looking for a new home for the first time in his NFL career. Njoku caught three passes for 293 yards and four scores in 2025. He was passed on the depth chart by Harold Fannin Jr. and missed time late in the year with a knee issue. Plenty of teams will be interested in signing him, though likely as a rotational player at this point in his career. Njoku is unlikely to put up TE1 numbers in 2026, no matter where he lands.