Who Should I Start? Jaelon Darden or Christian Watson

Saturday, September 7, 1:12 PM

The Cleveland Browns signed wide receiver Jaelon Darden to their active 53-man roster on Saturday and also elevated cornerback Mike Ford Jr. and offensive tackle Germain Ifedi to the active roster ahead of their Week 1 showdown in Cleveland against the Dallas Cowboys. The Browns released former third-rounder David Bell earlier this week, so the 25-year-old Darden will essentially replace him on Cleveland's roster as additional receiver depth behind Amari Cooper, Jerry Jeudy and Elijah Moore. Darden will be competing for playing time with Cedric Tillman and rookie Jamari Thrash and is off the fantasy radar everywhere for now. Darden was originally drafted in the fourth round in 2021 out of North Texas by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Last year in 16 games with the Browns, he only served as a kick returner on special teams and wasn't involved in the offense.

Tuesday, February 25, 9:09 PM

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Christian Watson (knee) had his ACL surgery and is expected to be back around the midway point of the 2025 season, according to The Athletic's Matt Schneidman. "Doing well. He's got a lot in front of him, but I expect him to attack it like he does everything else everything so far's been really good. He's been through this before, so he knows what to expect. It's a big injury. It may take some time, but he's got the right mindset, positive attitude toward it," general manager Brian Gutekunst said. The 25-year-old wideout tore his ACL in Week 18 against the Bears and finished his third year in the NFL with 29 catches (53 targets) for a career-high 620 receiving yards and a career-low two touchdowns in 15 starts. Known as a slow healer, it wouldn't be a surprise if Watson's recovery lingers into the second half. In standard 12-team leagues this fall, Watson will most likely go undrafted.