For a Browns team that spent the offseason elsewhere on the depth chart, running back has suddenly become a real problem.
Cleveland entered the 2026 regular season with most of its attention on the offensive line, the quarterback situation and a young wide receiver group. The backfield, by comparison, looked like an afterthought. Six weeks in, it’s anything but.
The trouble started when Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson both went down. Judkins sat out the Week 6 win over the Baltimore Ravens with an ankle injury, while Sampson was out in Week 1 and later landed on the injured list. As things stand, neither player has been cleared for Week 7, when the Browns head to Nashville to face the Tennessee Titans.
That forced Cleveland to act. Early last week, the team signed Audric Estime off the Minnesota Vikings’ practice squad to help replenish a thinning room. He joined Jaleel McLaughlin, who was pushed into a larger role after Rahiem Sanders also ended up on the injured list.
Estime arrived with little NFL track record - just 234 rushing yards and three touchdowns across his first two seasons - but he made a quick impression in his Browns debut. He carried the ball nine times for 19 yards and a touchdown, added two first downs and posted a 55.6% success rate with the ball in his hands. The numbers weren’t flashy, but the usage told the story: Cleveland leaned on him in the kind of spots where toughness matters most.
He also wasted no time getting into the end zone.
“I just followed the blocker,” Estime said postgame when asked about what led to him finding six. “And the coaches trusted me.
They said when we got down there that I was going to get in the end zone. I had confidence in myself.
I didn’t know how it was going to look, but I really had confidence that I was going to get in the paint.”
That kind of first impression gives the Browns something to work with as they move deeper into the week. Estime has now had a few more days to settle in on and off the field, and the coaching staff should have a better sense of how to fold him into the offense.
For now, Cleveland’s goal is simpler than solving the whole backfield. The Browns just need the run game to hold together until Sampson, Judkins and Sanders are ready again. If McLaughlin can contribute outside the tackles and Estime can handle the dirty work between them, there may be no need for deadline help.
There’s also not much downside to seeing what the 23-year-old can do with another chance.
“(Estime) shows up (at practice) on Wednesday and, heck, he’s taking meaningful snaps and scores a touchdown (a few days later),” Monken said about him in an article in The Athletic. “So that says a lot about the depth of our team and the expectations of the position, which you should have.
"You should have expectations of any player on your roster playing at a high level."
The Browns and Estime are back in action Sunday, Oct. 25, at 1:00 p.m. EST at Nissan Stadium.
In Other News...
Browns Suddenly Have Two Young Players Forcing A Tough Rotation Call
With the Browns sitting at 4-2 and alone atop the AFC North after six weeks, the attention in Cleveland has started to shift from the standings to how the rotation holds up as the season wears on. One of the more interesting questions inside the building now centers on how much more work running back J. K. McLaughlin might earn after making the most of limited carries, especially with head coach Todd Monken weighing the eventual return of Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson.
The same kind of squeeze could be coming in the secondary, where McNeil-Warren has also played his way into the conversation for a larger role. Injuries have opened the door for both players, and their recent performances have made it harder to simply hand those snaps back once the roster gets healthier. Monken has said he is hopeful Judkins and Sampson will return, but Cleveland now has a pair of young players making a strong case that the answer to the rotation question is not as simple as it looked a week ago. [Read more 🡒]
Browns Face One Test That Could Decide Their Playoff Push
At 4-2 and sitting atop the AFC North, Cleveland has put itself in a far better position than many expected, with wins over both the Steelers and Ravens giving the Browns an early edge in the division race. The schedule ahead looks manageable on paper, with most of the remaining opponents carrying losing records, which only sharpens the sense that this is a team with a real chance to stay in the playoff hunt deep into the season.
Still, the path is far from simple for a club that has historically had trouble finishing off divisional sweeps and turning hot starts into postseason security. The Browns only have a couple of games left against teams that present a more obvious challenge in the Giants and Raiders, and if they want to convert this strong opening into a berth, handling the games they are expected to win may end up mattering just as much as the head-to-head battles that have already gone their way. [Read more 🡒]
Browns Suddenly Own The AFC North And The Pressure Is On
The AFC North looks upside down through six weeks, with Cleveland sitting atop the division even while carrying the worst point differential among the four clubs. It is the kind of early-season twist that keeps the standings interesting and the rest of the division close enough to make every snap matter, especially with Baltimore still hanging around the playoff picture and Pittsburgh trying to build on an overtime win despite some uneven play.
Cincinnati, coming out of its bye week, now finds itself in a more difficult spot as it tries to close the gap and steady an offense that has not found an easy rhythm. For Cleveland, the bigger issue is not just holding first place, but proving it can keep it while the pressure ramps up from rivals that have already shown they can stay in the race. [Read more 🡒]