Team news: Cleveland Browns | Page 7

Hearing the Browns will start Dorian Thompson-Robinson vs. Steelers. I asked him before Seahawks game how it'd be different: "Night and day. It'll be a clear difference. I finally got my feet wet. I know what to do. I know what to study when I go out there."

Related Players: P.J. Walker

It was all but a certainty that P.J. Walker would get his third start of the season, but it doesn't seem that's the case. Thompson-Robinson is an exciting option for fantasy, but not necessarily for his pass-catchers. In his one start back in Week 4, he completed 52.8% of his passes for three interceptions, but did rush for 24 yards. The Browns will continue to lean on their defense in this post-Deshaun Watson world, but that's not going to matter if the offense only scores three points, as they did in DTR's first start.

Browns QB Deshaun Watson suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in the first quarter against the Ravens and is heading to Injured Reserve. It’s a displaced fracture in his right glenoid in his shoulder, and he’ll have surgery to repair it. Full recovery is expected.

Related Players: P.J. Walker

This is a hit to all of the Browns fantasy pieces, and Walker himself doesn't provide much value, either. The team will have to lean even harder on their great defense.

Cleveland Browns All-Pro running back Nick Chubb underwent a second scheduled surgery Tuesday to repair ligament damage in his left knee.

The Browns announced that the surgery performed by head team physician James Voos successfully repaired damage to Chubb's ACL.

Chubb underwent a first surgery repairing his medial capsule, meniscus and MCL in late September. As the story said, and despite the second surgery to the ACL, the Browns reiterated that Chubb should be able to return to the team sometime during the 2024 season. Chubb suffered the knee injury in Week 2.

Question: Is Mac Jones still the team’s No. 1 quarterback?

Bill Belichick: “We have a lot of things to work on this week as a team. We’ll work through those. That is what we are going to do this week.”

Related players: Will Grier, Bailey Zappe

At this point, it's anyone's guess what the Patriots do at QB heading into Week 11. Jones was 15-for-20 for 170 yards but did throw another interception. Strangely, the team went to Zappe on their final drive needing a touchdown to win. Zappe eventually threw an interception to end the game. If Jones doesn't start, it could be Zappe or maybe Grier - or maybe Malik Cunningham makes a return. Those in deep two-QB or superflex leagues should pay attention to this situation this week.

Brown QB Deshaun Watson is dealing with an ankle injury.

Related players: P.J. Walker

Watson left the game right before halftime but did return in the second half after getting his ankle taped up. He left the game with a walking boot, according to the post. Watson did say he would be fine, but we can't trust that. Watson will get an MRI Monday so the hope is we'll know more sooner than later.

The Bears are expected to be without QB Justin Fields and RB Khalil Herbert

Related Players: D'Onta Foreman, Roschon Johnson, Darrynton Evans

Foreman handled the load last week, turning 20 rushes into a workman-like 83 yards. We should expect more of that usage Thursday night, though the offense as a whole has a capped ceiling with Tyson Bagent at the helm. Foreman is in FLEX consideration for Week 10.

Bears designated RB Khalil Herbert, WR Equanimeous St. Brown and DB Josh Blackwell for return from injured reserve.

Related players: Roschon Johnson, D'Onta Foreman

The Bears play on Thursday this week at home against the Panthers, but it's not a lock Herbert goes in Week 10. Herbert was playing well before his injury, so we can perhaps assume he'll slide back into his RB1 role with Johnson as the RB2. But this could be shaping up to be a messy fantasy situation with the potential for a three-headed monster at the position.

The Broncos are back from their bye and head coach Sean Payton has his eyes on upping the contributions of one member of the offense.

Payton is focused on getting the ball to Marvin Mims more often in the second half of the year.

“How do we get Marvin more touches and how do we incorporate him more into what we’re going offensively?’’ Payton said, via Mike Klis of KUSA. “I’m sitting here looking at a notepad with his jersey number on it in front of me. And that’s our job as coaches. We really believe we have a good, young, talented player."

Related players: Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy

Mims had nine catches for 242 yards and a touchdown — a 60-yarder in Week 2 — in the first four weeks of the season, but he had just two catches for four yards over the next four games. The second-round pick has also returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown, so it’s not hard to understand why the team wants him more involved the story said.

Browns Deshaun Watson took all the first team reps in the part of practice open to the media Friday and certainly looks likes he’s starting Sunday vs the Cardinals

Related Players: P.J. Walker

Good news for football fans, in general, is that we don't have to watch Clayton Tune vs. P.J. Walker, but we still aren't sure how much of an upgrade Watson is. Amari Cooper is now locked in as a WR2.

I think last week we got a glimpse of what we’ll see when it comes to the run game. I think Jerome Ford, Kareem Hunt and Pierre Strong Jr. are all going to be involved, and on Thursday, offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt essentially said as much.

“Really, it’s by committee right now,” Van Pelt said. “Everybody’s going to get their touches. I see all those guys (Ford and Hunt) as 1A, 1B. They could all come in and be productive, which they’ve shown. That was our plan last week going in with Jerome coming off of the injury, not sure he was going to make it. So, we just wanted to put him in on third downs early, see how he felt, and then know that we could get him the ball in the fourth quarter with fresh legs.”

It seems like the three-deep running back rotation that has come to fruition won't be ending any time soon. With Jerome Ford back in Week 8, he handled nine carries to Kareem Hunt's 14. Pierre Strong Jr.'s took ten carries himself, as the veteran Hunt went touch-less in the fourth quarter.

Ford should be the only legitimate fantasy option this week, as an RB2/3.