Cleveland Browns DVOA, Stats, & NFL Rankings

Cleveland Browns running back Nyheim Hines (knee), who is coming off surgery for a torn ACL, will remain on the Non-Football Injury list for the start of the 2024 regular season and will miss at least the first four games. Hines and fellow RB Nick Chubb (knee) pushed each other and made great strides during their rehab, but they both need more time and won't be available until at least a Week 5 matchup against the Washington Commanders on the road. The 27-year-old Hines tore his ACL when he was hit by a jet ski last summer and missed all of the 2023 campaign. At best, he'll be a pass-catching option on third downs for the Browns when he's able to return, making him only worth a flier in deep PPR leagues that have multiple IR spots. As things stand right now, Cleveland's RB room only includes Jerome Ford and Pierre Strong Jr. after they released D'Onta Foreman on Tuesday.

The Cleveland Browns announced on Tuesday that they are terminating the contract of running back D'Onta Foreman. The 28-year-old signed with the Browns this past offseason after bouncing around a couple of teams over the past few seasons. In 2023, he played nine games with the Chicago Bears, rushing for 425 yards on 109 attempts and four scores. Foreman did have a career year with the Carolina Panthers, where he rushed for 914 yards and scored five touchdowns in 17 games. Now, the Browns only have two running backs on their official 53-man roster (Jerome Ford and Pierre Strong Jr.), with Nick Chubb (knee) on the PUP list. Foreman will look to latch onto another team. According to Field Yates of ESPN, there is a chance the Browns will re-sign Foreman in a few days without him going to waivers.

The New England Patriots waived quarterback Bailey Zappe on Tuesday, according to a source. Zappe became the odd-man out in New England's QB room leading up to the start of the 2024 regular season after rookie sixth-rounder Joe Milton III showed enough in training camp and the preseason to earn the QB3 role behind first-round rookie Drake Maye and veteran Jacoby Brissett. Maye and Brissett are still competing for the starting gig under center with less than two weeks to go before Week 1 kicks off. Zappe, 25, should find a new home sooner than later as QB depth. He was initially a fourth-round selection by the Pats in 2022 out of Western Kentucky. In his two years in Boston, he completed only 63.2% of his 304 pass attempts for 2,053 yards, 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 14 games (eight starts).

Cleveland Browns tight end David Njoku (undisclosed) will return to practice on Tuesday. Njoku had been limited for the past couple of weeks and was described as "sore" by head coach Kevin Stefanski. With little information available about the injury, fantasy managers can begin to breathe a sigh of relief with draft season in full swing. The 28-year-old hauled in 81 passes for 882 yards and six touchdowns in 2023. He finished as the TE6 and was dominant down the stretch of the season. Look for Njoku to pursue a similar stat line in 2024.

Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb (knee) is expected to remain on the Physically Unable to Perform List to start the season. According to Adam Schefter, the Browns are not ready to activate the star back and that means he will miss at least the first four games of the regular season. This doesn't come as too big of a surprise since Chubb's major injury last season, but now it becomes a waiting game. With Chubb on the sidelines for at least four games, Jerome Ford will likely take on the bulk of the workload again while Pierre Strong Jr., D'Onta Foreman, and maybe even Nyheim Hines (knee) battle for reps behind him.