Cleveland Browns tight end David Njoku explains how he played through serious burns

Browns tight end David Njoku opened up about the severe burns he suffered this year to ESPN's Hannah Storm on "NFL Countdown" on Sunday.

Njoku, who said he has bonfires every Friday night, told Storm he used a different type of lighter fluid to get the fire going on Sept. 29. The spray fluid, Njoku said, left particles in the air and when he lit the fire it “exploded.”

“It just happened so fast," Njoku told Storm. "When I lit it up, and saw the fire come up from my wrist and blow up in my face.

“I didn’t feel the pain until like later on because it just happened so fast.”

Njoku said he didn’t call 911, thinking the burns were minor. He washed his face with cold water and then took a cold shower.

The next morning, Njoku called Browns head trainer Joe Sheehan who encouraged the tight end to go to the hospital immediately.

Doctors in Cleveland told Njoku he shouldn’t play in the team’s Week 4 game against the Baltimore Ravens. But Njoku insisted on playing in the "personal" game despite having to be put under to have layers of excess dead skin removed.

Njoku showed up to Cleveland Browns Stadium on the morning of Oct. 1 to face the Ravens wearing a mask that would pull skin off his face when he took it off.

“I looked like a villain, I guess people would say,” Njoku said.

But how could the 27-year-old tight end play in a game with a helmet on? The Browns staff got creative. Njoku’s entire face was wrapped and then he put on a ski mask on before putting his helmet on.

“Every single play, whether I got the ball or not, my helmet hitting my face I felt it every single time," Njoku said. "No pain meds in the world will stop you from feeling that. When I wasn’t even doing anything, the sweat was dripping and everything would sting. It was intense.”

Despite a 28-3 loss to the Ravens, Njoku had a team high six receptions for 46 yards.

“After the game, when I took my helmet off and looked myself in the face, it was just tore up. At this point, it's too late to feel sorry for yourself or feel bad."

Instead of feeling back, Njoku chooses to look at the positive of the situation. That has included becoming an advocate for burn victims and helping raise money for the American Burn Association.

"There was so many DMs and messages from burn victims scared of their face," Njoku told Storm about why he's bene open about his burn injuries. "[I] just went forward to post my burnt scenario to make them feel better about themselves. Things happen. Mistakes happen. You’ve gotta just put your best foot forward.”

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns TE David Njoku explains how he played through serious burns