Cleveland Browns Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Bears RB D'Onta Foreman (ankle, shin) is inactive for tonight's game vs. the Vikings. RBs Khalil Herbert, Roschon Johnson, and Travis Homer are dressed for Chicago. Herbert should handle the majority of the early-down work, with Johnson spelling him on passing downs in particular.

Browns Edge Myles Garrett injured his left shoulder in Sunday's loss to the Broncos. He said afterward that he felt something pop, according to Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Garrett did re-enter the game late but left the stadium with his arm in a sling. We'll see what his Monday MRI says. Losing Garrett for any time would obviously be a big blow to one of fantasy's -- and real life's -- best defenses.

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 left to get checked for a concussion after taking a hit to the head in the third quarter of Sunday's game vs. the Broncos. He's been replaced by QB P.J. Walker. We'll pass along an update on Thompson-Robinson when we know more.

Update: Thompson-Robinson has been ruled out with a concussion. That makes him unlikely to play in Week 13. We'll see if Cleveland starts QB P.J. Walker or QB Joe Flacco vs. the Rams.

Bears RB D'Onta Foreman (ankle, shin) is listed as doubtful for Monday night's game vs. the Vikings. He got in two limited practices this week, which should put him on track for a Week 13 return. Foreman's absence on Monday should leave RB Khalil Herbert as Chicago's clear lead early-down back, with RB Roschon Johnson playing on passing downs.

Bears RB D'Onta Foreman (ankle, shin) returned to a limited practice on Friday. We'll see what he does on Saturday and how he's listed on the final injury report for Monday night's game vs. the Vikings.

Bears RB D'Onta Foreman (ankle, shin) did not practice on Thursday. His absence in Monday night's game vs. the Vikings would leave Chicago's backfield to Khalil Herbert and Roschon Johnson. We'll keep you updated on Foreman's status over the next few days.

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.

Bears RB D'Onta Foreman is questionable to return to Sunday's game vs. the Lions with an ankle injury. It's presumably the same ankle that limited him in practice throughout the week. We'll update his status when we know more.

Bears RB D'Onta Foreman (ankle) is active for today’s game vs. the Lions. He was listed as questionable after a limited week of practice. Between the ankle issue and the return of RB Khalil Herbert, Foreman would be a shaky Week 11 fantasy start.

Bears RB D'Onta Foreman (ankle) is expected to play vs. the Lions on Sunday, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. Foreman was limited in practice all week and is listed as questionable, so it's safe to assume that he won't be at 100%. That, plus the return of RB Khalil Herbert, leaves Foreman as a poor Week 11 fantasy play.

Broncos WR Jerry Jeudy (hip) is not listed on the final Week 11 injury report. He was added on Thursday and limited in practice but returned to a full workout on Friday. The hip shouldn't be an issue in Sunday night’s game vs. the Vikings.

Broncos WR Jerry Jeudy was added to the injury report on Thursday with a hip and limited in practice. That likely means that Jeudy hurt that hip today. We'll see what he does on Friday and how he's listed on the final injury report for Sunday night's game vs. the Vikings.

The Browns plan to start rookie QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson this Sunday against the Steelers, according to Bleacher Report's Jordan Schultz. That's a mild surprise in the wake of QB Deshaun Watson's season-ending shoulder injury. DTR got the first chance to replace Watson back in Week 4 but played his way into P.J. Walker taking the next three fill-in spots. Apparently Cleveland has seen enough development from Thompson-Robinson -- and probably enough meh-to-poor play from Walker -- to try the rookie again. DTR certainly doesn't boost the outlooks for any pass catchers. He completed just 52.8% of passes at 3.4 yards per attempt with 0 TDs and 3 INTs in his lone extended action to date. But the fifth-round pick at least presents the upside of the unknown. Walker's been out of college since 2017 and garnered nine NFL starts over the past four years. Thompson-Robinson's one start into his pro career after a nice college run that included five years as UCLA's primary QB. He completed 63.3% of his passes at 7.9 yards per attempt there. More important for his own fantasy purposes, Thompson-Robinson ran for 1,826 yards (even with sack yardage subtracted) and 28 TDs across his college career. He's worth a pickup in superflex leagues. And if the rookie can't do enough to keep WR Amari Cooper and TE David Njoku relevant, expect a switch back to Walker.

Update: HC Kevin Stefanski confirmed that Thompson-Robinson will start vs. the Steelers this weekend.

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 RB Nick Chubb underwent surgery on Tuesday, November 14 to repair his left ACL. His first surgery in late September addressed his MCL, meniscus, and medial capsule. Chubb's surgery was considered successful, and he's progressed "very well" following the initial surgery, the team said in a statement. "As previously announced, the estimated recovery time from these surgeries indicates that Nick would be able to return to play during the 2024 season." Exactly when Chubb is cleared to return remains unclear. We'll continue to track his rehab.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports "more information is needed" to determine whether Browns QB Deshaun Watson will be ready to play Sunday against the Steelers after hurting his left ankle in the Week 10 win over the Ravens. Watson missed only the final play of the first half and then returned to play (well) throughout the second-half comeback. We'll watch his status throughout the week. P.J. Walker would start if Watson can't go.

Vikings LB Jordan Hicks required a hospital "procedure" after developing compartment syndrome Sunday. The situation stemmed from a right shin contusion during the win over the Saints. It's not yet clear how long the Vikings expect Hicks to be out, but ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that they're signing LB Anthony Barr. That suggests we should at least expect Hicks to miss multiple games. Minnesota has two more before its bye. We'll watch for whether the team places Hicks on IR. Rookie Ivan Pace Jr. has been running as the second non-edge LB throughout the season. A big early-season role dwindled, though, to the point where he played less than 31% of the snaps in four straight games before Sunday. Pace shot up to a season-high 84% with Hicks leaving early against New Orleans. He appears to be the logical next guy up, with Troy Dye, Brian Asamoah (if his injured ankle heals), and Nick Vigil also in the mix. We'll watch for more on the situation ahead of next Sunday's visit to Denver.

Browns TE David Njoku tied his season high with 9 targets in Sunday's win over the Ravens. He also matched his season high of 6 receptions and posted his second-highest yardage total (58). That marks four straight games of 4+ receptions for Njoku, with three games of 8+ targets in that span. That's enough to make Njoku a comfy weekly start in most leagues, especially because Cleveland gets the fourth-best TE schedule from Week 11 on.