The fantasy football Week 12 schedule is coming and with Josh Gordon returning, the Cleveland Browns have some solid fantasy sleepers and free agent options when they take on the Falcons, as Isaiah Crowell, Terrance West, Ben Tate and Brian Hoyer all could see increased work, as Gordon should be able to open up the offense for some big plays after being out for the entire season.
Gordon may need some time to get back to game speed, but after the way he played last year, it's highly likely that the Browns offense will benefit from him coming back. According to ESPN.com, Gordon has finally completed his suspension and now he is allowed to be back with the team and participate in all football activities without any restrictions. Gordon was previously suspended for the entire season, but the new drug agreement allowed him to return in Week 12 once his suspension was fulfilled.
Gordon may take some targets away from Andrew Hawkins, but he too could see some extra work if defenders lock on to Gordon once he comes back. Hawkins has played well in the absence of Gordon this season and he has been the top target for Brian Hoyer, who has been solid but not spectacular for the Browns. Now that Gordon is returning, the offense should get a big boost and that is needed after Cleveland lost this weekend to the Houston Texans.
The running backs have played well overall this season and heading into Week 12, Tate, Crowell and West could be sleeper options against a bad Falcons rush D. The Browns will be getting Gordon back and that could stretch the field for Hoyer and the entire offense and that could give West and Crowell the chance to get back in the mix with Tate. Last week Tate had just two rushes and ended up with minus nine yards in the game and that gave way to Crowell, who was tops in touches.
The Browns RB situation is a tough one to crack and they usually go with the hot hand. West had the hot hand against the Bengals and it was Crowell this week with 16 touches. Tate and West could be sleepers this week but Crowell should be the one to look at after the touches he had this week. Crowell looked solid in the game and he had 14 carries and two catches and at least for this week he could be the one to start. West ended up with 12 yards on five carries and he could be a deep league option this week.
The Cleveland Browns are happy to stay with Brian Hoyer as the starting quarterback over Johnny Manziel for the rest of the season after leading the team to a solid record and now in Week 12 the Browns have a big game and the matchup comes as Josh Gordon returns, which will be huge for Hoyer along with fantasy football owners that have been patient.