Nyheim

Miller-Hines

The Browns opened Hines’ 21-day return window three weeks ago but could not get to a point where they felt comfortable activating him from the PUP list. The veteran running back who missed all of 2023 due to an accident involving a jet ski will now miss the remainder of the 2024 season due to the same injury. Hines signed a one-year deal with the Browns this offseason. He’ll be 28 next year and should have plenty of chances to resume his playing career in 2025.

Chubb began practicing last week and is in the second week of his 21-day return window. Head coach Kevin Stefanski was non-committal on whether Chubb would play in Week 6. The Browns could use Chubb in what looks to be a banged-up running back room. D’Onta Foreman (ankle) did not practice Wednesday, while Pierre Strong (hamstring) and Nyheim Hines (knee) were limited. If Chubb does return, it will take a few games for him to get back to fantasy relevance.

This hardly qualifies as news. Chubb returned to practice this week but was never expected to be immediately thrown into the lineup. He will stay on the PUP list for at least one more week while he recovers from the torn ACL he suffered a year ago. Fellow Cleveland running back Nyheim Hines will remain on the NFI this week as well.

Hines is working his way back from the PUP list after suffering a torn ACL last summer while with the Bills. The veteran running back/kick returner will be joining a crowded backfield if/when he returns, as Nick Chubb (knee) also saw his return window open this week. Hines is unlikely to have any legitimate fantasy upside this season.

Hines has not played football since the 2022 NFL season, after tearing an ACL in a jet skiing accident during the summer of 2023. Fantasy managers in desperate need of a PPR RB option could stash Hines on benches, though his abnormally long recovery timeline suggests he is unlikely to earn a role in the Browns’ backfield quickly.

Hines, who injured his knee in a jet ski accident in 2023, is still working his way back to full health and will miss the first four weeks of the regular season, and possibly more. Hines and Nick Chubb will remain on the PUP list while Jerome Ford and D’Onta Foreman will be the Browns’ top two backs to start the season. Ford, who last year had more than 1,100 total yards following Chubb’s injury, figures to be the lead back for now.

Hines suffered a torn ACL in a freak jet ski accident last season, costing him an entire year’s worth of football. Now with the Browns, Hines reunites with former Bills offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey, who was part of the regime that traded for him during the 2022 season. Hines brings versatility as a satellite back and can also contribute as a kick/punt returner. He’s been spotted rehabbing with Nick Chubb during camp, but like Chubb, we don’t know when he could return to full football action.

Fellow running back Nyheim Hines was placed on the active/NFI list with a knee issue of his own. Chubb is still working his way back from the devastating knee injury he suffered in Week 2 of the 2023 season. He can be removed from the PUP list at any time during training camp. If he remains on the PUP at the end of camp, the Browns will move him to reserve/PUP and he will be required to miss at least four games. The Browns have Jerome Ford and free agent addition D’Onta Foreman available to fill Chubb’s role at the start of the season. Ford should get the starting nod in Week 1, though Chubb’s eventual return could make him a non-factor midway through the fantasy season.

Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the deal is worth up to $3.5 million. Hines missed the entirety of the 2023 season after tearing his ACL in a jet ski accident. The Bills cut him after the season. Buffalo acquired Hines via a trade in 2022 but only gave him 11 touches in nine regular season games. He did, however, provide a spark on special teams, scoring two kick-return touchdowns in the same game against the Patriots in Week 18. He also returned punts for the Bills. Hines will likely do most of his damage for the Browns on special teams, though he could serve as a pass-catching specialist out of the backfield.

Hines tore his ACL last summer and missed the entirety of the 2023 season. He was expected to serve as the primary kick returner in addition to sporadic usage in the offense, the bulk of which would have likely come in the red zone. Buffalo brought in three separate running backs last season but now carry only James Cook and Darrynton Evans on the active roster with all of Ty Johnson, Latavius Murray, and Damien Harris unrestricted free agents heading into the new league year. It appears as if the Bills will be buyers at the running back position for the third consecutive year.