Browns TE David Njoku recently sat down with American professional wrestler and TV personality Michael Mizanin, commonly referred to as the Miz. An Ohio native and a die-hard Browns Backer — the Miz — conversed with the NFL star about how the team went through 3 QBs in a season to finally sign the ‘enemy’ Joe Flacco.
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The star quarterback has spent over a decade on the Ravens’ roster, a team that has had a roller coaster ride of a history with the Browns. It goes all the way back to the late ’90s when the current Ravens owner abandoned the city of Cleveland to move his team to Baltimore. Therefore, it is not surprising that Njoku viewed the man as an enemy who won their bitter rivals a Super Bowl trophy.
During his chat with Miz, Njoku discussed the moment when the Browns signed Flacco and expressed that he had seeds of doubt in his mind about him coming to Ohio. He felt Joe was there to sabotage their team as a Baltimore agent. Jokingly or not, he decided to keep an eye on Flacco but gave him a benefit of doubt. But the star TE was soon blown away by the fact that even at the age of 38, the former Ravens man still had a cannon arm. Njoku said,
“When we first signed him, I was a little bit iffy because I felt like he was an undercover spy from Baltimore. So I was like let me see how it goes. Each ball he threw in practice and the game was beautiful. I was like wow,” followed by, “At his age being a better like that, just still having everything he had for so many years was amazing. I am glad he is on our side.”
Despite so many vital injuries, both offensively and defensively, Kevin Stefanski’s army hasn’t been lagging. The feared Browns’ defense is one of the leanest in the league, capable of winning games and making plays by itself. But the coming of Flacco has caused a resurgence of their offense too. In 5 games as a starter in Cleveland, Flacco has won 4 games. He has thrown over 1600 yards with 13 touchdowns.
Following their victory against the Jets on Thursday Night Football, the Browns qualified for the playoffs. They also became the first team to qualify after using 4 different QBs. Currently, they are 11-5.
Flacco has certainly won over Njoku, who has been loyal to the Browns for the past 7 years. He apparently is a big WWE fan as well, which he revealed to Miz.
WWE and NFL Join Hands as the Miz and David Njoku Sit Together in Cleveland
David Njoku stepped into the WWE ring with a legend in the business, the Miz, in Cleveland. Brown’s TE revealed to the wrestler that he is a huge wrestling fan. When he was younger, the NFL star loved watching Miz, Bautista, Undertaker, John Cena, The Rock, etc. He and his younger brothers all started following the sport extensively. Moreover, he and his siblings spent hours in the video game and had their own characters.
Njoku also spoke about how his younger brother, Evidence, is aspiring to be a WWE wrestler and has taken his first steps towards taking part in a tryout during WrestleMania week. Njoku feels that given his dimensions — 6’7 and 245 pounds — Evidence would become a WWE superstar. Even though Evidence played football as a TE in college, he chose to follow a path different from his brother.
Now a superstar TE, Njoku feels that if he had been provided an opportunity like Evidence when he was younger, he might have stepped into the ring, but he feels happy that his brother got the chance. He said,
“If they had this when I was younger, I would have definitely been intrigued,” said David. “I would have definitely wanted to do something like this.”
Njoku and the Cleveland Browns are well on their way to the playoffs. They are currently the 5th seed in the playoffs but could overtake the Ravens if their rivals lose both of their matches. Though this is just a 1% chance, stranger things have happened in football.
