Fantasy Injury Update: Kareem Hunt, Jerome Ford, and David Njoku Impacting Week 8 Rankings

The Cleveland Browns offense has caught a bad case of the injury bug during the 2023 NFL season. Not only is the team going to be without starting quarterback Deshaun Watson for another game, but three important skill-position players are also dealing with injuries heading into Week 8.

Here’s a closer look at the latest injury updates we have for Jerome Ford, Kareem Hunt, and David Njoku and how these injuries could affect the fantasy football outlook for the Browns’ offense heading into their matchup against the Seattle Seahawks.

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Latest News and Injury Updates Impacting Fantasy

Kareem Hunt

Hunt was dealing with a thigh injury heading into last week’s game against the Indianapolis Colts. Fortunately, not only did Hunt play, but he produced 15.1 fantasy points by finding the end zone twice on just 10 touches.

While Hunt is still averaging just 3.22 yards per carry this season, he has managed to find the end zone in two straight games.

MORE: Fantasy Football Updated RB Rest-of-Season Rankings Week 8

According to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Hunt was a non-participant in Wednesday’s practice.

Hunt is still dealing with the thigh injury, but according to a report from Scott Petrak, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski expects him to play in Week 8. If Ford doesn’t play in Week 8, Hunt will enter the RB2 conversation against the Seahawks.

Editor’s Note: According to a recent report from ESPN’s Jake Trotter, Hunt returned to practice on Thursday.

This analysis was last updated at 2:42 p.m. on Oct. 26, 2023.

Jerome Ford

Speaking of Ford, he was unsurprisingly not participating in Wednesday’s practice while dealing with an ankle injury he sustained against the Colts on Sunday.

Ford was enjoying one of the best fantasy performances of his career prior to exiting the game. He produced 94 total yards on just 13 touches, which included an impressive 69-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.

His stellar play over the last two weeks has helped him get to RB18 on the season in PPR formats.

One encouraging sign for Ford is that he hasn’t been placed on injured reserve (IR), which likely means the ankle injury he sustained is not too serious. However, his status for Week 8 feels like it’s trending in the wrong direction at the moment.

Ford has led the team in carries every single game since Nick Chubb suffered a season-ending injury back in Week 2 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. If Ford is unavailable against the Seahawks, Hunt and Pierre Strong Jr. would likely split the work out of the backfield in Week 8.

Editor’s Note: According to a recent report from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Browns do not plan to place Ford on Injured Reserve, but is expected to miss 1-2 weeks.

Editor’s Note: According to a report from Scott Petrak of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram, Ford was a non-participant in Thursday’s practice.

This analysis was last updated at 3:13 p.m. on Oct. 26, 2023.

David Njoku

Potentially losing your starting quarterback and running back is already tough enough to manage. Well, unfortunately, the injury issues don’t stop there for Cleveland.

Starting tight end David Njoku missed Wednesday’s practice while dealing with a knee injury.

Now, he did play 96% of the offensive snaps against the Colts, which could simply mean this is a day of rest for the veteran TE. However, I would highly advise monitoring his participation in practice as the week progresses.

The Browns’ pass catchers have failed to make a big impact in the world of fantasy football for a couple of reasons.

First, their starting QB has been in and out of the lineup over the last month. Second, their defense has been so stingy this season that it has led to a majority of their games being lower-scoring contests where the running game has been featured. Third, Njoku simply has been a focal point of the Browns’ passing attack this season.

MORE: Week 8 TE Waiver Wire Targets

Njoku ranks third on the team in targets (31) and receiving yards (216) and still hasn’t found the end zone yet this season. Fortunately, Njoku did see a season-high nine targets in Week 7, but he does have four games with fewer than four targets this season.

With P.J. Walker set to see another game as Cleveland’s starting quarterback, Njoku is likely going to fall outside of the top 15 in my weekly TE rankings with all 32 teams taking the field this week.

This analysis was last updated at 1:18 p.m. on Oct. 25, 2023.