Dylan Sampson's Knee Injury Clears A Path For Quinshon Judkins And Another Browns' Fantasy Football Sleeper

The Cleveland Browns have now placed running back Dylan Sampson on injured reserve with a knee injury. They have signed former Denver Broncos running back Jaleel McLaughlin to their 53-man roster. Sampson was projected to be the team's primary pass-catcher, so his absence should help clear up the running back usage for the Browns.

Browns place RB Dylan Sampson on IR, sign RB Jaleel McLaughlin to 53-man roster. https://t.co/DaV0tg3GI9
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) September 15, 2026

Fantasy Impact

RB Dylan Sampson, Cleveland Browns

Sampson held some PPR value and could have been a potential handcuff in deep leagues, but his value is now essentially non-existent now that he has landed on IR with a knee injury. If you do not have open IR slots, there is no reason to keep him on your roster. However, if you do have empty IR slots with no one to fill them, he could be worth picking up and throwing in your IR if you don't need the roster spot.

RB Quinshon Judkins, Cleveland Browns

The Browns' offense looks like it's going to be terrible once again, which will hold Judkins back. However, Sampson's absence could help boost his value if he sees a boost in targets in the passing attack. In Week 1, Sampson did not play a single snap, and Judkins played on 65% of the snaps and saw 12 carries and two targets.

If he could get that passing volume up to about four targets, he would even hold some decent PPR value. While Judkins only rushed for 33 yards on 2.8 yards per carry and posted 17 receiving yards, it was a very difficult matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars. We are optimistic about Judkins moving forward and would buy low on him if the opportunity presented itself.

RB Raheim Sanders, Cleveland Browns

Sanders isn't worth putting in your lineups, but he will be the biggest beneficiary of the Sampson injury. Now that the team knows Sampson is gone for a while, we'd expect they work Sanders into the game plan more.

In Week 1, Sanders played on 35% of the snaps, but only carried the ball once. He did catch all three of his targets for 25 yards, though. We don't expect him to see the same amount of volume that Sampson would have, but four carries and four targets are potentially realistic opportunities from week to week. If something were to happen to Judkins, who is coming off a serious injury in 2025, Sanders would be considered the handcuff and could end up in a near bell-cow role.

More Fantasy Sports On SI News

Add us as a preferred source on Google