Team news: Cleveland Browns | Page 10

The Browns and star RB Nick Chubb have agreed on a reworked contract for 2024 to lower his base of $11.775M, with a chance to earn it back in incentives.

Chubb is working his way back from a serious knee injury, but isn’t going anywhere.

Related Players: Jerome Ford, Nyheim Hines, D'Onta Foreman

We still haven't had any concrete timetable about Chubb's return, so there remains some doubt that he will be ready for Week 1. This makes considering the rest of the backfield a tricky situation in current best ball drafts. We should feel pretty confident that the team will not be looking for reinforcements through the NFL Draft, as they currently have six backs on their roster, including the recent additions of Hines and Foreman.

We will keep an eye on news for further updates on Chubb's status.

More depth in Cleveland: The Browns are signing former Bears RB D’Onta Foreman.

Related Players: Nick Chubb, Jerome Ford

This gives the team a little bit of breathing room if Nick Chubb isn't fully back up to speed by the beginning of the season. Chubb will be the locked-in RB1 whenever he's up to 100% and this signing will muddy the waters for Jerome Ford, who performed well in a breakout 2023 that saw him break 1,000 total scrimmage yards.

Trade: Broncos and Browns agreed to a deal today that will send WR Jerry Jeudy to Cleveland in exchange for two draft picks, sources tell ESPN.

Cleveland made a run at Jeudy at last season’s trade deadline. Now the Browns finally will get him once trade is processed this week.

The two picks are 2024 5th- and 6th-round picks, per source.

The former first-round draft pick will be competing for the WR3 spot in Cleveland on a historically run-heavy offense. We shouldn't get too excited about Jeudy's potential heading into 2024 and consider him in fantasy WR4 territory.

The Chargers signed QB Will Grier off the Patriots' practice squad, per source.

The first significant move by interim GM JoJo Wooden.

Related players: Easton Stick, Mac Jones, Bailey Zappe

Grier will likely backup Stick, who is coming off a 63-21 thumping where threw three TDs and one INT for collecting 257 yards through the air. On the Patriots side, it looks like their QB carousel is getting smaller as they lose another quarterback after Malik Cunningham signed with the Ravens last week.

Jerome Ford had another solid, if unspectacular, game against the Jaguars, leading the Browns in carries (12) and rushing yards (51) while adding 31 receiving yards on five catches. However, he left in the fourth quarter after taking a shot to his hand/wrist area.

Related players: Kareem Hunt

The story said he went for X-rays, but there were no updates on his status after the game. If Ford can't go, Hunt would be in store for a bigger workload in a home game against the Bears in what is an early Sunday game.

Still no Myles Garrett, Denzel Ward or DTR at today’s practice but Amari Cooper back after sitting out Wednesday with a rib injury.

Related Players: Elijah Moore, Cedric Tillman

All signs point towards Joe Flacco starting at quarterback, which can't necessarily be taken as a positive for Cooper. Flacco consistently fed his running backs while keeping the ball around the line of scrimmage in his five game with the Jets last season. Cooper shouldn't be considered more than a WR3.

The New England Patriots are preparing quarterback Bailey Zappe to start Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Related Players: Mac Jones, Malik Cunningham

It wouldn't be unthinkable that we see some snaps for Malik Cunningham this week and, heck, this doesn't even mean Mac Jones won't see the field. The move makes sense for the Patriots, who aren't playing for anything at this point of the season, but it shouldn't impact us fading the team on our fantasy squads.

Bailey Zappe and Malik Cunningham were the only QBs to throw passes during a drill with WRs and TEs during the media-access portion of Patriots practice.

Mac Jones stood behind them.

The carousel continues in New England. No reason to consider any of these three quarterbacks in anything but the deepest Superflex leagues. If you're truly desperate, Cunningham could offer some end-of-season upside with his legs. He ran for 34 yards and a touchdown in the opening Preseason contest.

It’s time to turn to Bailey Zappe. Full stop. Give him every starter rep in practice. Build a simple offense around what he can do.

It probably won’t win a lot of games. The body of evidence we have suggests Zappe won’t be a successful NFL quarterback. But you can’t keep turning to Mac Jones. He’s broken.

Related players: Will Grier, Malik Cunningham

This is just one opinion and has nothing to do with the Patriots ultimate decision heading into Week 13. But it makes some sense. The story said with Jones on the field, it feels like the entire team is just waiting for him to make a crippling mistake. The story added the team seems to have no interest in Cunningham playing quarterback (considering the coaches have kept him from his natural WR position as much as possible). The team doesn't seem likely to turn to a QB that's still on the waiver wire, so the Pats appear ready to close out the season with one or more of the four options on their roster.

Rookie wide receiver Cedric Tillman had his best game in Denver, catching four passes for 55 yards.

Tillman and Dorian Thompson-Robinson were high school teammates, and the two got plenty of chances to build on their previous chemistry during training camp and the preseason, the story said. Tillman’s ascent is perhaps the most important development the receiving corps has seen in weeks, the story added. With DTR in doubt for this week because of a concussion, the story wondered if Tillman can continue his upswing with a new QB possibly playing this week. Tillman's five targets were a season high as well as the four catches and 55 yards. He's likely on your wire in typical leagues and may be worth a look if you're aiming to add to the position for the stretch run. However, quarterback play will likely be a big issue with Tillman and all the Brown WRs going forward.