Dynasty News has been a part of Footballguys for well over a decade. Our Jeff Tefertiller combines strategy with relevant NFL news to help dynasty managers excel with their teams. It examines some of the larger happenings of the week from a dynasty perspective. The news may be injury- or performance-related.

Dynasty News: Deshaun Watson, Cleveland

The Cleveland went “all-in” to acquire and sign Deshaun Watson and now are in a pickle as the quarterback has vastly underperformed and the Browns are stuck in a large, guaranteed contract. Last week, Jeremy Fowler spoke out on the topic and said that the team’s front office has accepted their fate with Watson. This is the reason the team has not benched the underperforming Watson. Fowler said, “My sense through all of this is the Browns are resigned to their fate, having no choice but to ride this out and hope things turn.” Before Sunday's game, beat reporter, Brad Stainbrook, tweeted, "Source: #Browns QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson was told to be extra prepared heading forward. He’ll now serve as QB2. Starting quarterback Deshaun Watson is on a short leash heading forward." It is interesting that Thompson-Robinson, and not Jameis Winston, was Watson's backup this week of all weeks, in the game he suffered an Achilles injury. Then, Thomson-Robinson hurt his finger in the game and was replaced by Winston.  This will be an interesting situation to watch play out. Did the team promote Thompson-Robinson because they believed in him or because they thought Winston would be the bigger threat to Watson? We will know soon enough as Thompson-Robinson heals from the finger injury. But, for now, the team is stuck with Watson for at least another year so this is a harsh reality. If they cut him after the 2025 season, Cleveland will incur $99 million in dead cap, according to overthecap.com. There are no good options and no easy way out of this mess. The injury makes it easier to select a quarterback high in the 2025 NFL Draft. The Browns have a 1-6 record and just traded away their star receiver (Amari Cooper). 

Dynasty News: Tua Tagovailoa, Miami

On Saturday morning, Dianna Russini tweeted, "Tua Tagovailoa is back. The Miami quarterback is set to practice this week and the hope is he will start in week 8 against the Arizona Cardinals, per sources ..." This is great news that the Dolphins start might be back in action this week. Tagovailoa is slated to practice on Wednesday with the hopes of playing Sunday. He still must pass the league's concussion protocol. This is a short recovery for the star quarterback so anything is possible. While we obviously care about his return to the Miami starting lineup, Tagovailoa's return signals that he has not had any concussion symptoms since the injury a few weeks ago. 

Dynasty News: Will Levis, Tennessee

Saturday night, Adam Schefter tweeted an update on Levis'sshoulder injury, "Titans QB Will Levis is dealing with a grade 2 AC sprain in his right shoulder and could be sidelined beyond Sunday’s game at Buffalo, per sources. This is considered a 4-to-5 week injury, and Levis has played through injuries in the past, but this one will be a week-to-week." We expect Mason Rudolph to get a few starts as Levis heals. Rudolph did not play that well in the loss to Buffalo, but still was better than Levis the past few weeks. This is good news for the dynasty managers of Calvin Ridley and DeAndre Hopkins. 

Dynasty News: Aidan O'Connell, Las Vegas

Aidan O'Connell recently beat out Gartner Minshew for the Raiders starting job. But, against the Rams Sunday, he left the game with a hand injury. Ian Rapoport tweeted, "#Raiders QB Aidan O'Connell is believed to have suffered a broken thumb based on preliminary tests, sources say. He’ll have further evaluation tomorrow to determine the extent of the injury. Frustrating, considering he had just taken the starting job." After Monday's testing, it was determined that O'Connell will miss four to six weeks. He was placed on injured reserve. After the injury, Las Vegas had to turn back to Minshew. He did not play well after coming in for O'Connell, completing just 15 of his 34 passes for 154 yards and three interceptions. The journeyman passer is hamstrung by the lack of weapons and is unable to create on his own. For o'Connell, this is a disappointing setback as he tries to earn the long-term job in Las Vegas. With a 2-5 record, the Raiders will likely be in a great position to select a top quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft. 

Dynasty News: Brandon Aiyuk, San Francisco 

Brandon Aiyuk left Sunday's game against the Chiefs in the second quarter with a leg injury. After the game, coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters that the team fears Aiyuk injured his ACL. This is one injury where the doctors on the sideline know the injury without imaging so we must assume that Aiyuk will be lost for the remainder of the season. 

Dynasty News: Chris Godwin, Tampa Bay

Godwin suffered a gruesome ankle injury late in Monday night's loss to Baltimore. He will miss the remainder of the season and be placed on injured reserve. It is a sad ending to Godwin's season as he was leading the league in receptions and was having a stellar 2024 campaign. Making matters worse, Godwin will be a free agent in the offseason.  The Buccaneers drafted Jalen McMillan in this year's draft to be the heir apparent to Godwin and his time to shine is now. McMillan makes a great "buy" target for dynasty managers as he should start opposite Mike Evans for years to come. As for Godwin, he should be fully healed in time for the offseason. 

Dynasty News: Dallas WRs

Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback, Troy Aikman, still appears on local radio stations. Last week, he spoke out about the Cowboys wide receivers, “I think the routes are terrible. I think they run terrible routes. And I've thought that beyond this year. I think CeeDee (Lamb) has got to improve in his route running. As a quarterback, if you're not certain where guys are going to be consistently, it's hard to play the position. That's what I see. I see guys lazy coming off the line of scrimmage. Sometimes they run, usually if they do, it's because they're anticipating they're going to get the football on that play, but if they're not, they don't. And it all ties together. I'm not impressed with that part of it.  … I just finished watching the Baltimore Ravens because I have them this week. You put on film of theirs and watch their receivers run routes and they come off the football, so does San Francisco's and Green Bay's and others. But it's hard to play the (QB) position if you're not certain how guys are going to run routes or where they're going to be. And I'm not speaking for Dak (Prescott). Dak may say, ‘Hey, I think (their routes) are amazing.’ But as a former quarterback watching it, it's gotta get a lot better.” These are harsh words by Aikman, but they are well-deserved. This offense is a mess and it may take a coaching change for the culture and the effort to improve.

Dynasty News: Ricky Pearsall, San Francisco

Saturday afternoon, the San Francisco 49ers tweeted, "The 49ers have activated Ricky Pearsall from the Reserve/Non-Football Injury List." Considering that he had a bullet go through his chest, Pearsall has recovered quickly. With Jauan Jennings nicked up, Pearsall immediately stepped into a larger-than-normal role for his NFL debut in Sunday's game aganst the Kansas City Chiefs. He reeled in three of his five pass targets for 21 yards. Aiyik's injury will give Pearsall an opportunity to shine. 

Dynasty News: Rashid Shaheed, New Orleans

After a hot start to the season, Saints speedster, Rashid Shaheed, has been plagued by lacking quarterback play and a knee injury. He tried to play through the knee injury but finally could not push it any further. Last Wednesday, Adam Schefter tweeted a couple of updates, “Dennis Allen also said that Saints WR Rashid Shaheed will undergo surgery on his meniscus, and he now will be out … Source: Saints WR Rashid Shaheed’s meniscus surgery Thursday is now expected to determine whether he will be sidelined multiple weeks or for the rest of the season.” Without Shaheed, the Saints offense misses the downfield threat. This offense looked inert against Denver on Thursday night. Thursday morning, Schefter reported that doctors ended up repairing the meniscus, so the speedster faces a four-to-six-month recovery.  He was placed on injured reserve shortly after the surgery. The one good news for Shaheed came when Schefter reported, “Before this season, the Saints signed WR Rashid Shaheed to a one-year, $5.2 million extension — rare for an exclusive rights free agent. Shaheed remains under contract through the 2025 season.” So, dynasty managers should expect Shaheed to be ready for the 2025 season. The Saints have no cap space to maneuver so Shaheed and Olave will be the team’s starting receivers once again. New Orleans is in bad cap shape. It is bad enough that they do not even have players that could be cut to save tangible cap space. Shaheed makes an attractive inexpensive “buy” for rebuilding dynasty teams.

Dynasty News: Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia

Goedert suffered a hamstring injury before the bye week, but little was said. Last week, as the Eagles were preparing for the Giants, beat reporters mentioned how Goedert was not at practice. Then, beat writer, Jeff McLane, tweeted last Wednesday, “Hearing Dallas Goedert could be out a few weeks …”. Grant Calcaterra replaced Goedert in the lineup, but was not overly involved in the lopsided victory over the Giants. He and quarterback Jalen Hurts were on the same 2019 Oklahoma team, though Calcaterra missed the season with a concussion. Goedert could be out of action for several weeks so dynasty managers must plan accordingly. Calcaterra could be a decent desperate tight end starter if a dynasty manager needs a bye-week replacement from the waiver wire.