Jerome Ford 'hopeful' to be ready by Week 1

Browns HC Kevin Stefanski shared on Tuesday that RB Jerome Ford (hamstring) will not practice with the team this week, per beat reporter Mary Kay Cabot. This ailment has kept Ford out of practice for almost two weeks at this point. However, Stefanski added that Ford is progressing toward returning from injury and that the team is hopeful he'll be available for their season opener vs. the Bengals on September 10. Should Ford not be ready to go for Week 1, RB Demetric Felton would be in line for backup duties behind starter Nick Chubb. We'll keep an eye on this situation as more information becomes available.

Browns RB Jerome Ford carried 17 times for 107 yards in Sunday's comeback win over the Ravens. That not only marked a season high in rushing yardage for Ford (by 1 yard). He also led No. 2 RB Kareem Hunt by 7 carries. That gives Ford a 37-24 lead in rushing attempts over the past two weeks. Ford added just 1 catch for 2 yards on 1 target, but even that was the only RB target for Cleveland against the Ravens. Ford looks like the clear lead back for a run-friendly offense and has the potential to help your fantasy football team quite a bit down the stretch. After a neutral matchup with Pittsburgh in Week 11, Cleveland gets a high-upside matchup with Denver in Week 12. And the schedule finishes with the fourth-best RB schedule across weeks 15-17, according to our adjusted fantasy points allowed.

Browns RB Jerome Ford tallied 20 carries for 44 rushing yards in Week 9 vs. the Cardinals. The second-year back also added 5 catches and 33 yards as a pass-catcher on Sunday. Ford had seen a team-leading 41.6% of the Browns RB touch opportunities over the past four games and out-touched his teammate Kareem Hunt 25 to 14 this week. It seems the issues Ford had with his high ankle sprain of late are behind him. Week 10’s matchup vs. the Ravens (fifth in run defense DVOA) won’t be easy, but he should be involved enough to warrant RB2 consideration.

Browns RB Jerome Ford (ankle) is not listed on the final injury report for this weekend’s game vs. the Cardinals. He put in a full practice on Friday, which feels significant after he suffered what was reported as a low-grade high-ankle sprain in Week 7. Ford ended up playing in a 3-RB committee last week – but handled eight of 10 RB opportunities in the fourth quarter. We’re projecting Ford to lead Cleveland RBs in touches against Arizona on Sunday.

Browns RB Jerome Ford (ankle) got in a limited practice on Wednesday. He surprisingly played vs. Seattle this past weekend, just a week after suffering what was reported as a low-grade high-ankle sprain. The fact that Ford was able to get on the field again this early in the week bodes well for his Week 9 outlook. We'll see if he gets in a full practice on Thursday or Friday, but he's clearly on track to play against Arizona.

Browns RB Jerome Ford (ankle) is active for today’s game vs. the Seahawks. He went down with what was reported as a low-grade high-ankle sprain just last week. But Ford has evidently made a surprisingly quick recovery. It’s still safe to assume that he'll be at far less than 100% today, though. He’d be a risky fantasy start. See where Ford sits in the Week 8 RB Rankings.