Cleveland Browns Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Browns HC Kevin Stefanski refused to give a timetable for RB Nick Chubb's return as OTAs kicked off on Monday. “I don’t know that we’ll go past today and this week at least that’s the way I’m looking at it,” Stefanski said. “I can promise you he’s working very hard early in the morning. He’s here, he’s attacking his rehab. That’s the best way I can put it. When he’s ready, he’ll be ready.” Chubb is working back from a nasty multi-ligament left knee injury that required two surgeries -- one in September and one in November. Stefanski's comments don't necessarily mean that Chubb is behind schedule in his rehab, but they're a reminder that his status for the 2024 campaign remains a major question mark. Chubb is a fairly easy avoid at his current RB27 best ball ADP. He sits 35th in our current RB rankings.

The Browns and RB Nick Chubb have agreed to a salary adjustment for 2024, the final year on his contract. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reports that the change drops Chubb's cap hit from $15.85 million to $6.275 million -- with incentives that could bring his salary back up to $12.2 million. You could read this several different ways. It's positive that Cleveland didn't simply cut Chubb, which would have cost just $4 million in dead cap space, according to Spotrac. But Chubb's new salary knocks him to 11th among RBs in total money for 2024, behind Tony Pollard and Aaron Jones; barely ahead of Devin Singletary and Miles Sanders. Chubb no doubt believes he can achieve at least some of the performance incentives and drive that number back up. But it also appears he wasn't willing to test the open market for higher 2024 earnings. Ultimately, it's way too early for fantasy managers to know what we can expect from the veteran RB. Chubb's multi-ligament knee injury in September has required surgeries then and in November. We haven't seen much on his return timeline. The Browns, meanwhile, have added RBs D'Onta Foreman and Nyheim Hines this offseason. Both signed small, one-year deals that don't come close to guaranteeing offensive roles. (Hines probably arrives to primarily return kicks.) But they join Jerome Ford and Pierre Strong as backfield insurance. We're staying away from Chubb at his RB27 best ball ADP, which still has him ahead of Javonte Williams, Austin Ekeler, and Zamir White, among others. The crowded depth chart behind Chubb also makes it a risky backfield for investing in backups.

The Browns signed RB D'Onta Foreman to a one-year deal. Although he averaged just 3.9 yards per carry in Chicago last year, Foreman ranked 22nd in Pro Football Focus rushing grade, 22nd in Elusive Rating, and 26th in Rush Yards Over Expected Per Attempt among 49 qualifying RBs. That followed a career-high 914 rushing yards on 4.5 yards per attempt for the Panthers in 2022. Foreman is a quality depth addition for a Browns team that has RB Nick Chubb working his way back from a significant knee injury that will likely cost him at least part of the 2024 season. Foreman will team up with RB Jerome Ford for however long Chubb is sidelined.

The Browns and QB Jameis Winston have agreed to a one-year deal worth up to $8.7 million, according to insider Jordan Schultz. Winston had interest from "multiple teams," per Schultz, but was presumably not offered a starting job. He'll slide in behind QB Deshaun Watson in Cleveland. Watson is coming off a disappointing 2023 season that ended with a right shoulder injury that required surgery. Considering what the Browns are paying him, though, Watson will need to be even worse this year for Winston to see the field. Winston is only worth stashing in deeper superflex dynasty leagues. This signing means that QB Joe Flacco won't be back in Cleveland.

The Broncos are trading WR Jerry Jeudy to the Browns for fifth- and sixth-round picks in this year's draft, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. It's clearly a cost-cutting move for Denver, which avoids the nearly $13 million cap hit of the final season on Jeudy's contract. The move should allow second-year WR Marvin Mims to hit the starting lineup, though he'll have to compete with returning WR Tim Patrick. Jeudy arrives to a Cleveland corps that already sported WRs Amari Cooper and Elijah Moore. Right now we'd bet on Jeudy garnering more targets than Moore, who earned just 16.7% target share in his first year with the Browns. But it's certainly not an exciting landing spot for Jeudy's upside. That's magnified by QB Deshaun Watson's lackluster play in 2023 before his season-ending shoulder injury. Jeudy's fine to stack with Watson on best ball rosters at their respective prices: WR61 in Underdog Fantasy ADP for Jeudy; QB23 for Watson. Just don't expect either to be a championship winner. That said, Watson sports a nice crew of pass-catchers now, with the aforementioned wideouts and TE David Njoku. Cleveland second-year WR Cedric Tillman, meanwhile, looks blocked from relevance for at least one more year. He's not a must-hold in dynasty.

Browns QB Deshaun Watson (shoulder) is expected to resume throwing in March, according to insider Mary Kay Cabot. His rehab from November surgery on his right shoulder has gone smoothly by all accounts. Watson got back in the weight room this week, per Cabot, and should at least be a limited participant in April's OTAs. Watson was mostly disappointing prior to that shoulder injury last year, finishing the 2023 campaign with a 61% completion rate and 6.5 yards per attempt. It's been three years now since Watson's big 2020 season -- and it's becoming increasingly unlikely that he returns to that level of play. But he did still average 23.7 rushing yards per game last year, which gives Watson a chance to be a fantasy asset in 2024 even if his real-life performance is lacking. He scored as a top-10 fantasy QB in three of his five full games last year. We'll keep tabs on that right shoulder.

The Browns are hiring Ken Dorsey as their OC, according to multiple sources. He'll replace Alex Van Pelt, who'd been Cleveland's OC since HC Kevin Stefanski took over in 2020. Dorsey spent a season-and-a-half as Buffalo's OC, taking over in 2022 and leading the Bills to second-place finishes in both total yards and points. He was fired midway through this past season, despite the Bills averaging 26.2 points through the opening 10 games. (They averaged 27.1 the rest of the way.) We'll see exactly how much say Dorsey has in Stefanski's offense this coming season. Stefanski has called plays the last four seasons.

The Browns have fired OC Alex Van Pelt and RBs coach Stump Mitchell. Van Pelt has been Cleveland's OC since HC Kevin Stefanski was hired in 2020; Mitchell started his Browns tenure in 2019. We'll see who replaces those guys, but we wouldn't expect sweeping changes to the offense considering Stefanski has always had a big say in the operation.

Browns HC Kevin Stefanski said at Sunday's season-ending press conference that the team still has a "ton of confidence" in QB Deshaun Watson. Injuries limited Watson to just six games this season -- the last of which was a broken glenoid in his throwing shoulder that required surgery in November. “He’s doing great in rehab," Stefanski said. "I’m confident he’ll be ready to roll this spring. He’s chomping at the bit, but he’s doing everything he’s supposed to do when it comes to what the doctors are telling him and as he rehabs through this, but he’ll be ready to roll.” Watson's recovery from that surgery is one question heading into 2024. But the bigger one is his ability at this point. Watson put more bad than good on tape this past year, finishing with a 61.4% completion rate and 6.5 yards per attempt. QB Joe Flacco was much more productive in the same offense down the stretch. Watson can't be considered more than a QB2 in early fantasy drafts. We'll track his rehab.

Browns RB Pierre Strong (back) is inactive for today's Wild Card game vs. the Texans. That leaves a few extra touches to go around for RBs Jerome Ford and Kareem Hunt.

Browns WR Cedric Tillman (concussion) is out for Saturday's Wild Card game vs. the Texans. The rookie has been a full-time player for Cleveland over the second half of the season and averaged 5.0 targets over the last seven games. His snaps will go to some combination of WRs David Bell, James Proche, and Marquise Goodwin. But Tillman's targets might just be soaked up by WR Amari Cooper and TE David Njoku.

Browns RB Pierre Strong (back) is questionable for Saturday's Wild Card game vs. the Texans. He shouldn't be in your fantasy plans, but his absence would leave a few extra touches for RBs Jerome Ford and Kareem Hunt. We'll get Cleveland's inactives around 3 pm ET on Saturday.

Browns WR Amari Cooper (heel) is off the final injury report for the Wild Card round after putting in a full practice on Thursday. It looks like he'll be ready for his usual role in Saturday's game vs. the Texans. Cooper, of course, smoked Houston for 265 yards and two TDs just a few weeks ago.

Browns WR Amari Cooper said Wednesday that his injured heel is "getting better every day." He added that he could have played last week had the game meant anything and that he expects to play against the Texans on Saturday. Cooper missed practice again on Wednesday, though. We'll see if he gets on the field on Thursday and how he's listed on the final injury report for the Wild Card round.

Browns WR Cedric Tillman (concussion) did not practice on Tuesday. He's more likely than not to miss Saturday's Wild Card game vs. the Texans. Tillman has been a full-time player for Cleveland over the second half of the season and averaged 5.0 targets over the last seven games, so his absence would be felt. The rookie's snaps would likely go to some combination of WRs David Bell, James Proche, and Marquise Goodwin.

Browns WR Amari Cooper (heel, rest) did not practice on Tuesday. He's been taking early-week practices off for most of the season, so we wouldn't read too much into this. Cooper said last week that he expects to play in the Wild Card game vs. the Texans. We'll track his status over the next few days.

Browns WRs Elijah Moore (concussion) is active for today’s game vs. the Bengals. He’s cleared concussion protocol but still might not play much with Cleveland having nothing to gain today. WR Marquise Goodwin (knee) is inactive, leaving the Browns with WRs Cedric Tillman, David Bell, and James Proche alongside Moore.

Saints backup QB Jameis Winston agreed to a restructured contract that adds two years to his deal, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reports. But the move was reportedly done merely to spread out his cap hits. Those two extra years void "early in the new league year," according to Fowler. That means Winston can still hit free agency this spring. The 30-year-old will be interesting to watch on the market. Winston is stashable in dynasty leagues now (where possible) in case he lands behind a shaky starter. That seems more likely than Winston getting a shot to be some team's bridge QB. Winston previously hit the market in 2020, 2021, and 2022. His most recent New Orleans contract came with a starting opportunity ($28 million over two years), but the Saints stuck with Andy Dalton in 2022 even after Winston got healthy and then imported Derek Carr for 2023.

The Browns have ruled Edge Myles Garrett out for Sunday's game against the Bengals. He did sit out Friday's practice and is officially listed with shoulder and hamstring issues. But Garrett's sitting because Cleveland doesn't need this game. Beware of other Browns starting defenders in this game for that reason. Missing Garrett also makes Cleveland a worse team-defense play.

Browns WR Amari Cooper (heel) is out for Sunday's game vs. the Bengals. He said Thursday that he expects to be ready for the Wild Card playoff game next weekend. WRs Elijah Moore (concussion) and Marquise Goodwin (knee) are listed as questionable. Both guys will likely be held out of this meaningless game. Cedric Tillman is the best target bet in Cleveland's WR corps this weekend.