David Njoku says Browns felt 'disrespected' by former coach Hue Jackson

July 3 (UPI) -- Cleveland Browns tight end David Njoku said the team felt "disrespected" by former head coach Hue Jackson, who joined the rival Bengals after the Browns fired him in October.

During a guest appearance on The Rich Eisen Show on Tuesday, Njoku was asked about quarterback Baker Mayfield's criticisms of Jackson last season. Njoku said Mayfield's comments about Jackson being "fake" represented the quarterback speaking for the entire Browns locker room.

"We came together after Hue left and took it upon ourselves to work extra hard to finish the year strong," Njoku said. "Baker has a voice, as we all do, and he didn't appreciate what happened. It's not like we're robots. We felt, in a way, disrespected. It is what it is."

Jackson was 3-36-1 in two-plus seasons with the Browns when he was fired on Oct. 29. He joined the Bengals -- who he had coached with from 2004 to 2006 and 2012 to 2015 -- as an assistant less than two weeks later.

Cleveland was 2-5-1 when Jackson was fired. The Browns went 5-3 under interim head coach Gregg Williams.

The Bengals did not retain Jackson after Lewis was fired on Dec. 31.