The Cleveland Browns dealt with their fair share of tumultuous headlines during the 2019 NFL season. Tight end David Njoku admits head coach Hue Jackson's departure was among the more notable.

Aside from Jackson's firing, the dismissive comments made by quarterback Baker Mayfield added even more fuel to the fire. Njoku said during an appearance on the Rich Eisen Show that the team was not happy with their old coach:

“Well obviously we weren't happy with what Hue said about us after he left. It is what it is. Baker (Mayfield) didn't appreciate it. We came together after Hue left and took it upon ourselves to work extra hard to finish the year strong. Baker has a voice, as well all do, and he didn't appreciate what happened. It's not like we're robots, we felt in a way, disrespected,” Njoku told Eisen.

Although Jackson's departure left the Browns in a tough situation, his ensuing actions seemingly made things worse. Not only were his former players perturbed by the comments he had made but they also now had to deal with him being a member of a rival team's coaching staff with the Cincinnati Bengals. In many ways, the young players on the roster felt betrayed by their former coach.

Fortunately, Cleveland was able to bounce back strong and expectations are now higher than ever going into the 2019 NFL season. The front office was able to shore up even more star power this offseason while new head coach Freddie Kitchens has proven to be the right man for the job thus far. Njoku will be among those hoping to enjoy a breakout year with the Browns.