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.
Browns QB Deshaun Watson (shoulder) will start Sunday's game vs. the Cardinals, HC Kevin Stefanski said Friday. Watson was listed as a full participant in Friday's practice and took the first-team reps in the portion of practice open to the media, according to insider Mary Kay Cabot. This will be Watson's second time returning from this shoulder injury in the past three weeks. The first go-around, he lasted just 12 snaps before giving way to QB P.J. Walker. There's theoretical upside here in a plus matchup against Arizona, but Watson would be a high-risk Week 9 fantasy play.
Browns QB Deshaun Watson (shoulder) was limited in Wednesday's practice. It's an upgrade after he was sidelined all last week. The Cleveland media was impressed with the zip on Watson's passes early in practice, but HC Kevin Stefanski wouldn't say whether Watson will play vs. the Cardinals this weekend. We'll keep you updated on his status over the next few days.
Browns WR Amari Cooper hauled 6 of 11 targets for a team-high 89 receiving yards in Week 8’s loss vs. the Seahawks. TE David Njoku also performed well, logging 77 receiving yards and a TD on 4 catches in the contest. Njoku has now seen at least 5 targets and passed 45 receiving yards in three of the last four games. Both are a names to consider starting next week’s matchup vs. the Cardinals.
Browns HC Kevin Stefanski said Wednesday that QB P.J. Walker will start this weekend's game vs. the Seahawks. "I just feel like with what happened in the game, landing on his shoulder, there's residual swelling that's affecting his throwing," Stefanski said of QB Deshaun Watson. "I think it's the best thing for him to rest this week and focus on the rehab." Considering Watson was out for three weeks the first time he hurt his shoulder, it's certainly possible that he misses more than one game this time around. Expect another run-heavy game plan from Cleveland in Seattle this weekend.
Browns WR Amari Cooper caught just two of 8 targets in Sunday's win over the Colts, tallying a mere 22 yards. Losing QB Deshaun Watson early certainly didn't help, as P.J. Walker completed just 15 of his 32 pass attempts the rest of the way. Of course, Watson opened the game just 1 of 5 before going down. Unfortunately, we'll have to take games like this from Cooper at times. Watson should be available for Week 8 after clearing concussion testing during Sunday's game -- though it was curious that he never returned. A matchup with the Seahawks at least doesn't hold anything scary in coverage for Cooper. Elijah Moore posted a 4-59 receiving line on 7 targets.
Browns QB Deshaun Watson went into detail about his shoulder injury on Wednesday. He confirmed that it's a rotator cuff injury, per The Associated Press' Tom Withers. Watson said he's "trending up" but admitted that he might not get back to 100% this season. He added that he's not sure if it'll be days or weeks before he's ready to play. He's set to undergo medical testing ahead of Wednesday's practice. We'll keep you updated on Watson's status, but fantasy owners shouldn't plan on having him available for Week 7 lineups.
Browns QB P.J. Walker mustered just 192 scoreless yards in the Week 6 win over the 49ers. That didn't stop WR Amari Cooper from having a nice fantasy day. He caught four of his team-high eight targets for 108 yards. His receptions went for 11, 58, 26, and 13 yards. Cooper fumbled after his first catch but later atoned for that mistake with a sweet contested catch over CB Charvarius Ward. Despite Cleveland's QB issues, Cooper has now tallied 90+ yards in three of his last four games. He's drawn a solid 22.7% target share and is averaging 9.4 yards per target. Cooper would obviously benefit from a healthy Deshaun Watson, although that could still be weeks away. The good news: Cooper gets plus matchups the next three weeks vs. the Colts, Seahawks, and Cardinals.
Browns QB Deshaun Watson (shoulder) has officially been ruled out for Sunday's game vs. the 49ers. "He's making progress," HC Stefanski said Friday. "He's getting better. He's very disappointed. He wants to play. He wants to be able to compete with his teammates, so he's just got to focus on getting better every day." We'll see if Watson can make it back for Week 7. QB P.J. Walker gets the start against San Francisco. You should try to avoid the Browns passing game in fantasy lineups.
CBS Sports' Josina Anderson is told that Browns QB Deshaun Watson (shoulder) will not play vs. the 49ers on Sunday. He's about three weeks removed from a bruised rotator cuff that reportedly might take up to six weeks to fully heal. If Watson is indeed out this weekend, Cleveland will start QB P.J. Walker, who has seven career starts across the past three seasons. Walker sports a 57.5% completion rate, 6.4 yards per pass attempt, and five TDs vs. 11 INTs. A Walker-led passing game has very little chance against San Francisco.
Browns TE David Njoku hauled 6 of 7 targets for 46 yards in Week 4’s loss vs. the Ravens. WR Amari Cooper struggled to connect with rookie QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson and only caught one of his 6 targets for 16 yards. This was an ugly outing without Deshaun Watson under center. The team will look to regroup and get healthier before they play again in Week 6 after their bye week.
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