Cleveland Browns DVOA, Stats, & NFL Rankings

There's an "overwhelming likelihood" that Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (Achilles) will remain with the team in 2025, according to Albert Breer of The MMQB. However, the Browns are expected to "work to put competition in the quarterback room, either through the draft or free agency," Breer said. This is an important development given that there has been significant speculation about Watson's future in Cleveland. Per Breer's understanding, Watson will be given the chance to recover from his Achilles tear and regain the starting role in Cleveland, but it won't merely be given to him as easily as it was ahead of the 2024 season. Rather, the veteran quarterback will have to get healthy and beat out competition if he has any shot at starting in Week 1 next year.

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Cedric Tillman (head) entered concussion protocol after exiting Thursday's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, according to head coach Kevin Stefanski. Tillman was visibly woozy and disoriented after taking a hit late in the third quarter. The Browns initially listed Tillman as questionable, but as soon as he entered concussion protocol, he was deemed ineligible to return. He finished Week 12 with four catches, two targets, 28 yards, and a lost fumble. Jerry Jeudy and Elijah Moore remain the Browns' top two receivers but could see additional volume if Tillman doesn't clear protocol in time for Week 13.

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Cedric Tillman (head) left the Thursday night game against the division-rival Pittsburgh Steelers and is being evaluated for a concussion. Tillman's return is questionable. The 24-year-old took a hard hit in the third quarter and headed into the locker room to be looked at. Before getting injured, he caught two of his four targets for 28 yards and lost a crucial fumble. If Tillman is unable to return for the rest of the game, it should mean more offensive snaps for Jaelon Darden as the No. 3 behind Jerry Jeudy and Elijah Moore. Tillman, like other Cleveland pass-catchers, has seen his fantasy stock rise ever since quarterback Jameis Winston took over the injured Deshaun Watson (Achilles), although this will be Tillman's second straight disappointing performance if he doesn't return. The Browns have another difficult matchup on tap in Week 13 against the Denver Broncos.

Cleveland Browns running back D'Onta Foreman is a healthy scratch on Thursday night for the third straight week against the division-rival Pittsburgh Steelers. Now that Jerome Ford is back to full health, Foreman has fallen to fourth on the RB depth chart in Cleveland behind Nick Chubb, Ford and Pierre Strong Jr. As long as none of the trio are injured against Pittsburgh, Foreman figures to be a healthy scratch again in Week 13 against the Denver Broncos. The 28-year-old opened the 2024 campaign with a bigger role alongside Ford while Chubb recovered from a gruesome knee injury the year prior. In eight games in his first year with the Browns, Foreman hasn't been very effective, averaging a weak 3.4 yards per carry for 155 rushing yards and no touchdowns on 46 rushing attempts. He's added five catches for 46 yards.

The Cleveland Browns are elevating tight end Blake Whiteheart from the practice squad for the Thursday Night Football contest against the Pittsburgh Steelers. With Geoff Swaim (concussion) inactive for Week 12 due to a concussion, Whiteheart will serve as the team's TE3 behind David Njoku and Jordan Akins. The second-year undrafted free agent has hauled in three receptions for 13 yards and a touchdown in four games for Cleveland this season, but he is not on the fantasy football radar.