Browns Shelve Raheim Sanders on IR, Grab Audric Estime Off Vikings PS
A hip injury ends Sanders' stretch as Cleveland's primary kick returner (29.3 yards per return). Estime arrives to fill a depth role in a crowded backfield.
New depth RB in Cleveland, but no clear path to touches yet.
- Sanders placed on IR with a hip injury
- Sanders averaged 29.3 yards per kick return
- Estime signed off Minnesota's practice squad
- Estime: 198 rush yds, 1 TD in 2025 (7 games)
- Sanders is RB52 in our rankings (#242 overall)
Cleveland is reshuffling the bottom of its backfield. The Browns placed running back Raheim Sanders on injured reserve Tuesday with a hip injury suffered in Sunday's loss to the Jets, then signed Audric Estime off Minnesota's practice squad in a corresponding move. Sanders had carved out a role as the team's primary kick returner, averaging 29.3 yards per return before the injury knocked him out.
Sanders' production this season (2026) was thin on the fantasy ledger — 43 rushing yards, 11 catches for 74 yards and zero touchdowns across five games, good for 23 PPR points. That slots him at RB52 and #242 overall in our rankings. Translation: he wasn't on your radar unless you're playing in a return-yardage format, and the IR stint just slams that door shut.
Estime is the replacement, and he brings a modest résumé. Last year (2025) with New Orleans he logged 198 rushing yards and a touchdown across seven games with one start, adding 12 catches for 103 yards — 48 PPR points on the season. He also saw time in 13 games for Denver back in 2024, so the tape exists. We've got him at #121 overall, RB29 at the position.
What It Means in Cleveland
A depth signing off a practice squad rarely moves fantasy needles, and this one is no exception. Estime joins a Browns backfield that already has its touch distribution sorted, so he's a special-teams and emergency-carry body until something changes. The more immediate question is who takes over kick-return duties with Sanders' 29.3-yard average sidelined — not exactly a fantasy windfall for anyone outside deep return-scoring leagues.
Cleveland also tidied up the margins, inking tight end Devin Culp and guard Vershon Lee to the practice squad while cutting cornerback Myles Bryant and receiver James Proche II. Culp's fantasy footprint is one catch for six yards and a touchdown in 13 games (2025) — pure roster filler. Proche (6 catches, 65 yards over 9 games in 2025) was never a factor.
Fantasy bottom line: drop Sanders anywhere he's still rostered — the IR move ends his season-long relevance, and he was barely holding onto it anyway. Estime is a watch-list name at best. Keep him on the wire unless an injury thins Cleveland's backfield further and he climbs the depth chart. Right now there's nothing to chase here.
