Browns WR Amari Cooper (heel) is inactive for tonight's game vs. the Jets. NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reported less than an hour ago that Cooper was likely to play, but he reportedly didn't feel good enough in pregame warmups. His absence leaves Elijah Moore, Cedric Tillman, Marquise Goodwin, David Bell, and James Proche as Cleveland's five active WRs. We'd try to avoid the group against the Jets' top-ranked WR defense. TE David Njoku should get a target boost with Cooper out. QB Joe Flacco is no more than a low-end QB2 tonight considering the matchup and Cooper's absence.
NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reports that Browns WR Amari Cooper "should be able to go" tonight against the Jets, barring any setbacks with his heel issue in pregame warm-ups. We've been expecting that to be the case, but Cooper's clearly operating at less than 100%. Add the league's worst scoring matchup for WRs, and Cooper certainly falls short of being a must-start in Week 17 fantasy football lineups. Be sure to check your Team Intel page to see whether Cooper makes sense for your lineup.
Browns WR Amari Cooper (heel) is "hopeful" he can play vs. the Jets tonight, but "his status remains up in the air," according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. "The short week is tough," Pelissero adds. "Cooper knows his body well. They’ll get a better sense closer to kickoff." We'll look for further updates on Cooper and get Cleveland's inactives around 6:45 pm ET tonight. It's clear that Cooper won't be at 100% if he ends up playing. Toss in the matchup against the Jets' top-ranked WR defense, and Cooper is a much shakier Week 17 fantasy play than his big Week 16 would suggest. See where he currently sits in the Week 17 WR Rankings.
Browns WR Amari Cooper is listed as questionable for Thursday night's game vs. the Jets. He's on the injury report with "rest" and a heel. We'll look for more information on Cooper and get Cleveland's inactives around 6:45 pm ET tomorrow. Cooper, of course, is coming off a monster Week 16 but draws the league's No. 1 WR defense on Thursday.
Browns WR Amari Cooper exploded in Week 16 vs. the Texans, hauling in 11 of 15 targets for a career-high 265 receiving yards and 2 TDs. The veteran’s yardage total on Sunday ranks as the highest recorded mark in 2023, and his 51.5 PPR points stand as the second-highest score single-game score this season. TE David Njoku didn’t post the same kind of eye-popping numbers as Cooper did in this contest (6 catches, 44 yards), though he did find the end zone and extended his TD streak to three games. Both players will have their work cut out for them in Week 17 against the Jets (third in pass defense DVOA), but the strong rapport they’ve built with QB Joe Flacco should be enough to propel fantasy managers toward securing a championship. Start Cooper and Njoku next week confidently.
Browns TE David Njoku continues to be QB Joe Flacco’s favorite target. The veteran pass-catcher ended Week 15’s win vs. the Bears with 10 catches on 14 targets for 104 receiving yards and a TD. Sunday’s contest is the second time in Njoku’s career that he exceeded the 100-yard mark (2021 Week 5). WR Amari Cooper was also heavily involved, hauling 4 of 8 targets for a team-high 109 receiving yards, including the 51-yard TD catch that tied the game up late in the fourth quarter. Both players are set up nicely to build on this success next week vs. the Texans (28th in pass-defense DVOA) and should be trustworthy starters in the fantasy playoffs.
Browns HC Kevin Stefanski named QB Joe Flacco the starter for the rest of the season after Sunday's win over the Jaguars. No surprise. Flacco has given the Browns their best QB play of the season the past two weeks (and that includes Deshaun Watson). He followed a 254-2-1 passing line last week with 311 yards, three TDs, and one INT in the Week 14 win. Flacco gets doable matchups the next two weeks vs. the Bears and Texans but is really only in play in 2-QB and superflex leagues. Flacco's solid play is good news for Cleveland's skill-position players, though.
Browns WR Amari Cooper (concussion, ribs) is active for today’s game vs. the Jaguars. He should be ready to play his usual role. Cooper notably out-targeted WR Elijah Moore five to one before exiting last week’s game with a concussion.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that Browns WR Amari Cooper has cleared the concussion protocol and will play Sunday against the Jaguars. WR Elijah Moore dominated targets (12) in last week's loss to the Rams, which Cooper left early. Cooper drew 5 targets on just 32% snap share. We'd bet on him returning to the lead among Cleveland WRs this week. Check our Week 14 WR rankings for updated projections on both guys.
Browns WR Amari Cooper (concussion, ribs) is listed as questionable for this weekend’s game vs. the Jaguars. He didn’t return to practice until Friday, so it’s tough to imagine him being cleared in time for Sunday. Cooper should remain on fantasy benches for now. We’ll keep you updated on his status.
Browns WR Amari Cooper (concussion, ribs) did not practice on Wednesday. He's unlikely to clear the concussion protocol in time to play vs. the Jaguars this weekend. Cooper's absence would leave WR Elijah Moore and TE David Njoku as the clear top-two targets in Cleveland's passing game.
Browns WR Amari Cooper exited in the second quarter of Sunday's game vs. the Rams for a concussion check. We'll pass along an update when we get one.
Update: Cooper has been diagnosed with a concussion and ruled out. We'll track his progress through the protocol this week, but consider him unlikely to be cleared in time for Week 14's game vs. the Jaguars.
Browns QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson (concussion) is out for this weekend’s game vs. the Rams. The team confirmed on Friday that QB Joe Flacco will start that one. The 38-year-old isn’t a good option at this point of his career – but he should prove to be at least a slight upgrade over Thompson-Robinson and P.J. Walker.
Browns QB Joe Flacco has been getting first-team reps in practice and "could start" this weekend's game vs. the Rams, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson is in concussion protocol -- and hasn't been good in his three starts. QB P.J. Walker has been just as bad. Flacco just joined the Browns 10 days ago but is likely the team's best passer. He completed 58% of his passes at 5.5 yards per attempt with five TDs and three INTs in five appearances for the Jets last year. That included outings of 309 and 307 passing yards in the first two weeks of the season. Flacco is not a viable Week 13 fantasy play, but we'd consider him a slight upgrade for Cleveland's skill-position players.
Browns WR Amari Cooper has been ruled out of Sunday's game vs. the Broncos with a rib injury. He took a big shot to the midsection from S P.J. Locke in the fourth quarter. We'll look for an update on Cooper's injury and his status for Week 13 and beyond.
Browns QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson will start this weekend's game vs. the Broncos, HC Kevin Stefanski said Monday. Cleveland just added Joe Flacco to the QB room, but DTR will get at least one more start. The rookie did very little to win last week's game vs. the Steelers, completing 56% of his passes at 3.8 yards per attempt with 0 TDs. But he turned it over just once and took only one sack. Thompson-Robinson is a bottom-barrel QB2 for Week 12 and will continue to be a drain on Cleveland's WRs. (TE David Njoku tallied a 7-56-0 line on a whopping 15 targets vs. Pittsburgh.)
Not every Browns pass-catcher experienced a massive downtick in production without QB Deshaun Watson in Week 11. TE David Njoku recorded 7 catches for 56 receiving yards vs. the Steelers. Njoku’s 15 targets on Sunday are his highest single-game mark in his seven-year NFL career. He’s now seen a total of 22 targets across two games (Week 4 vs. the Ravens, Week 11) with rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson under center. For comparison, WR Amari Cooper has received just 14 combined targets in that sample size. This concentration of work is a huge boon for Njoku’s fantasy appeal so long as Thompson-Robinson is the Browns’ starter. He should be firmly entrenched in TE1 territory again in Week 12 vs. the Broncos.
Browns QB Deshaun Watson suffered a right-shoulder injury in Sunday's win over the Ravens that will end his season. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that it's a "displaced fracture in his right glenoid." Watson will have surgery, and he's expected to fully recover. That should mean he's ready in plenty of time for the start of 2024. For the rest of 2023, however, this means Browns pass catchers will see decreased efficiency. Watson hasn't been having a terrific season, but he leads P.J. Walker by wide margins in completion rate, TD rate, passer rating, QBR and Pro Football Reference's adjusted net yards per pass attempt. Walker's three games as primary QB so far this year have each included at least 8 targets for lead WR Amari Cooper. The wideout delivered quality receiving lines -- 4-108 and 6-89 -- in two of them but struggled against the Colts in between and has yet to catch a TD from Walker. Cooper caught just 44.4% of his targets over those three contests, compared with 64.4% across the other six. And that number rises further if you remove the Week 4 start for rookie QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson (6 targets, 1 catch). The remaining five games have found Cooper catching 71.8% of his targets. Losing Watson hurts Cooper. TE David Njoku, on the other hand, might be least impacted. He averaged 4.0 receptions and 51.7 yards across those three Walker games vs. 4.3 receptions and 37.0 yards per game in the other six. We have updated our Week 11 rankings and are updating the rest-of-season rankings as well.
Browns WR Amari Cooper hauled all 5 of his targets for a team-high 139 receiving yards in Week 9’s win vs. the Ravens. QB Deshaun Watson’s return to the lineup was a welcomed change of pace for Cooper, as he’s now averaged 5.5 catches and 95.5 receiving yards in four games with Watson under center. In four games without Watson, Cooper only mustered 3.2 catches and 58.7 yards per game. TE David Njoku was also effective Sunday, logging 26 receiving yards and a TD on 4 catches in the contest. Next week’s matchup against the Ravens (first in pass defense DVOA in 2023) will bring them down a bit in fantasy value, however.
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