Who Should I Start? Deshaun Watson or Andrei Iosivas

Saturday, December 14, 12:27 PM

Despite being 3-10 heading into a Week 15 matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs, the Cleveland Browns expect quarterback Deshaun Watson (Achilles), reigning NFL Coach of the Year Kevin Stefanski and general manager Andrew Berry to return in 2025, according to sources. Watson's role, however, is up in the air with the Browns moving forward after he suffered a season-ending Achilles tear midseason. Cleveland traded three first-round picks to the Texans to acquire Watson in 2022 and then signed him to a five-year, $230 million fully guaranteed contract. Since joining the team, he has played in just 19 games and has posted a weak 80.7 passer rating when on the field. A post-June 1 release of Watson would create around $119 million in dead money, which would be the most in NFL history. The Browns are stuck with Watson for now, and he'll be off the fantasy radar coming off his serious injury in 2025.

Saturday, December 21, 12:51 PM

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Andrei Iosivas does have a career-high five touchdowns in 2024 and resides in one of the best passing offenses in the NFL, but he's still not a viable flex play for fantasy managers looking to advance to championship matchups in Week 16. We would recommend ignoring him in starting fantasy lineups for a divisional tilt on Sunday against the Cleveland Browns. In the first meeting with Cleveland on Oct. 20, Iosivas put up a donut (he did so the following week as well). The 25-year-old just isn't seeing enough volume (51 targets on the year) behind target hogs Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. When you factor in tight end Mike Gesicki, Iosivas is quarterback Joe Burrow's No. 4 target, at best. In the last five weeks, Iosivas has been outside the top-50 wideouts with 11 catches, 127 yards and one touchdown on 16 targets. There's minimal upside here and a scary-low floor.