Is Quinshon Judkins playing in Week 1? Browns RB depth chart just got more crowded with contract news

Billy Heyen

Is Quinshon Judkins playing in Week 1? Browns RB depth chart just got more crowded with contract news image

The Cleveland Browns' running back depth chart is officially more crowded.

On Saturday, they signed second-round RB Quinshon Judkins to his rookie deal. The move comes just a day before the Browns take on the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1 of the 2025 NFL season.

The timing of the move raised an obvious, immediate question:

Is Quinshon Judkins playing in Week 1?

Despite being officially under contract, Cleveland Browns rookie running back Quinshon Judkins is not expected to play in Week 1 against the Bengals.

That's what The Athletic's Dianna Russini reported soon after the deal was signed.

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Cleveland Browns RB depth chart

If Judkins is indeed inactive for Week 1, this is how the depth chart will shape up for the opener:

  1. Jerome Ford
  2. Dylan Sampson
  3. Raheim 'Rocket' Sanders

When Judkins is back, it's more of a mystery.

This is one version of how the Browns could choose to do things once Judkins is at full strength:

  1. Quinshon Judkins
  2. Jerome Ford (third-down RB)
  3. Dylan Sampson

When Judkins is ready, it's not clear what might happen to the undrafted rookie Sanders (no relation to Shedeur).

But it'll probably be a week or two before the Browns have to figure that all out, and even then, it might take Judkins a few more weeks to show whether he deserves the leading workload.

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Billy Heyen

Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News. Sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle