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Cleveland Browns Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Fantasy Football News 2023

Most Recent Fantasy Football News & Updates

Browns WR Amari Cooper (shoulder, groin) returned to a limited practice on Thursday. He should be ready for this weekend's game vs. the Titans, but we'll see how he's listed on the final injury report tomorrow.

Browns WR Amari Cooper (shoulder, groin) did not practice on Wednesday. He played through the groin issue on Monday night, but the shoulder is new. We'll track Cooper's status over the next few days but are tentatively expecting him to play vs. the Titans on Sunday.

The Browns are signing RB Kareem Hunt to a one-year deal worth "up to" $4 million, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. This move seemed likely the minute RB Nick Chubb went down with his season-ending knee injury on Monday night. Hunt spent the past four seasons with the Browns, so he's familiar with HC Kevin Stefanski's offense. It's worth noting, though, that Hunt is now 28 and is coming off an inefficient 2022 season. He averaged just 3.8 yards per carry and ranked 35th among 48 qualifiers in NFL Next Gen Stats' Rush Yards Over Expected Per Attempt. We're still expecting RB Jerome Ford to get the first crack at lead duties but will keep a close eye on this backfield going forward. Both Ford and Hunt are worth rostering in all fantasy leagues.

Multiple reports Tuesday afternoon said RB Kareem Hunt is visiting the Browns. It makes sense, given that Hunt spent the past four seasons in Cleveland and the team just lost Nick Chubb for the year. The Browns elected to move on from Hunt to Jerome Ford last offseason, though, after Hunt produced dramatic declines in efficiency -- both rushing and receiving. He'd make plenty of sense as Cleveland's No. 2 back. But expect Ford to continue leading the backfield in work. We'll watch, of course, to see if this reunion actually happens.

Browns HC Kevin Stefanski called Jerome Ford the team's "featured back" with Nick Chubb out for the rest of the season, according to insider Mary Kay Cabot. We'll see exactly what that means for Ford's snap rate and volume, but it's clear that he'll get the first crack at lead duties. He got off to a strong start in relief of Chubb on Monday night, ripping off 106 yards on 16 carries and catching three of four targets for 25 yards and a score. Kareem Hunt and Cam Akers are among the RBs the Browns are considering adding to the backfield, Cabot reports.

Browns HC Kevin Stefanski confirmed on Tuesday that RB Nick Chubb will undergo season-ending knee surgery to repair damage to multiple ligaments. We'll look for further details on Chubb's injury and timeline for return. It's certainly fair to question whether he'll be ready for the 2024 season opener.

Browns WR Amari Cooper hauled in 7 of 10 targets for 90 yards in Monday night’s loss vs. the Steelers. Teammate Elijah Moore saw major involvement again but was only able to turn 9 targets into 3 catches for 36 yards in Week 2. Despite Cooper dealing with a groin injury ahead of the contest, the Cleveland offense was funneled through their pair of top wideouts again for the second week in a row. TE David Njoku, who caught 4 balls on as many targets for 48 yards, was a bit of an odd man out. Both Cooper and Moore will be exciting players to start in lineups in Week 3 vs. the Titans.

Browns RB Jerome Ford ran the ball 16 times for 106 rushing yards in Week 2’s loss vs. the Steelers. The second-year back also added 3 catches on 4 targets for 25 yards and a score as a receiver in the game. Ford performed well in relief of injured teammate Nick Chubb (knee) and will be one of the most popular additions off of the waiver wire this week. HC Kevin Stefanski confirmed after the game that Chubb will be out for the remainder of the 2023 season.

Browns QB Deshaun Watson completed 22 of 40 attempts for 235 yards with 1 TD and INT apiece in Week 2’s loss vs. the Steelers. He also ran for 22 yards in the contest, though a pair of costly lost fumbles ate into his fantasy performance. Through two weeks of the season, Watson has been truly underwhelming. Fantasy managers hoping he would make a return to pre-suspension form are left wondering if that’s going to happen. Is it still possible? Absolutely, but the early returns are giving us little reason to be overly optimistic. We’ll see if he can do any better in Week 3 vs. the Titans.

Insider Jordan Schultz tweets that the Browns "fear" a season-ending knee injury for RB Nick Chubb. That's been the obvious assumption since the injury happened in the second quarter of Monday night's game in Pittsburgh. Schultz adds that Chubb is believed to have a dislocated knee and damage to multiple ligaments. We should get an official diagnosis within the next 24 hours. Chubb's 2023 is over. The question now is whether he can make it back for the start of the 2024 season. He turns 28 in December.

Browns RB Nick Chubb left Monday night's game in Pittsburgh on a cart after taking a shot to his left knee. ESPN declined to show replays of the injury, and Chubb could be seen denying a teammate who wanted to help him up immediately after. We'll watch for details on the injury, but it certainly doesn't look good. RB Jerome Ford entered and caught a TD pass on the ensuing play. (He then also ran in the 1-point conversion.)

Update: Chubb has been ruled out with a knee injury.

Browns WR Amari Cooper (groin) will be active for tonight's Week 2 game vs. the Steelers, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. This is certainly good news for fantasy managers, though a mid-week injury aggravation is never a good sign. We've got him conservatively lowered in our WR rankings.

On Monday, Browns beat reporter Mary Kay Cabot tweeted that "there's some optimism" around WR Amari Cooper (groin) suiting up for Week 2 vs. the Steelers. Cabot adds that Cooper playing is "not a certainty" but that the Browns will see how the veteran feels in warmups and that "there's a chance" at a minimum. Be sure to check back before kickoff for any official word on his availability. Should Cooper not play, we expect a bump for fellow WR Elijah Moore in this primetime divisional bout.

Browns WR Amari Cooper (groin) is "considered unlikely" to play vs. the Steelers on Monday night, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports. We'll see if he can make it back for Week 3, but he should be on fantasy benches for this week. Cooper's absence will leave Elijah Moore and Donovan Peoples-Jones as Cleveland's top two WRs -- and give TE David Njoku more target upside.

Browns WR Amari Cooper (groin) is listed as questionable for Monday night's game vs. the Steelers. That groin was added to the injury report on Saturday, when Cooper was limited in practice. That indicates that Cooper injured the groin in Saturday's workout. The Monday kickoff obviously makes this a tricky situation for fantasy owners. We'll look for further updates on Cooper. But his owners either need to have him on the bench, or have a Monday night alternative lined up. The Browns-Steelers and Saints-Panthers games are on Monday.

Update: Browns HC Kevin Stefanski confirmed that Cooper "aggravated" his groin in Saturday's practice. Cooper had core-muscle surgery this offseason. "We'll see how he does over the next 48 hours," Stefanski added.

Browns WR Elijah Moore led the team in receiving with 43 yards on 3 catches in Week 1’s win vs. the Bengals. Teammate Amari Cooper logged 3 catches for 37 yards, and TE David Njoku hauled in just 2 of his 3 targets for 24 yards. The rain in Cleveland made for a very run-heavy approach by the Browns’ offense on Sunday, but the target distribution is rather intriguing. Both Moore and Cooper received a team-leading 7 targets apiece in the divisional upset. We identified Moore as one of our big sleepers this offseason, and his Week 1 involvement indeed showed reason to be excited moving forward. We’ll see what QB Deshaun Watson and company can conjure up in Week 2 vs. the Steelers on Monday night primetime.

Browns RB Nick Chubb recorded 18 attempts for 106 rushing yards in Week 1's win vs. the Bengals. He also caught all 4 targets and 21 receiving yards through the air. This is yet another classic Chubb performance. Fantasy managers who drafted the veteran early got precisely what they paid for. Due to the poor weather in Cleveland, the Browns ran the ball a collective 40 times. One item to watch moving forward is the involvement of teammate Jerome Ford, a player who saw 15 carries and 36 rushing yards of his own on Sunday. We don't mention this to suggest we're concerned about Chubb's workload. But does the heavy RB2 involvement have more to do with the rainy conditions, or is this foreshadowing? We'll find out next week as the Browns travel to Pittsburgh to play the Steelers on Monday night primetime.

Browns QB Deshaun Watson completed 16 passes on 29 attempts for 154 passing yards with one TD and INT apiece. He also added 45 rushing yards and a TD on the ground on 5 carries. Aside from a bone-headed third-quarter INT to Bengals S Dax Hill, Watson played reasonably well in the rainy Cleveland weather. We’re still too early in the season to say that Watson is officially “back to form,” though he’ll have a solid opportunity to further prove himself next week against the Steelers on Monday night primetime. The Pittsburgh defense allowed the highest total offensive yards (391) of any team in the early slate of Week 1 vs. the 49ers.

Browns RB Jerome Ford is not listed on the Week 1 injury report. He missed three weeks in August with a hamstring injury but is ready for Sunday's opener vs. the Bengals. We'll see how snaps are divvied between Ford and Pierre Strong behind lead back Nick Chubb. We're still projecting Ford as the Chubb handcuff.

Browns RB Jerome Ford returned to practice Tuesday for the first time since injuring his right hamstring back on Aug. 7. Ford still has more than a week before the Sept. 10 opener against the Bengals. He also has added competition after Cleveland traded for RB Pierre Strong. We'd still stash Ford ahead of Strong in fantasy football drafts. Both are late-round options but could present significant upside in the case of a Nick Chubb injury.

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