Life for Fantasy Football managers has gotten a lot harder. Not only have a number of great players gotten injured in the last few weeks complicating roster decisions, bye weeks are not upon us in the NFL.
As if navigating roster alignments wasn’t difficult enough, you now have to worry about replacing players in your lineup for one week. If you are in a roster pinch and want to add a player off of free agency, there are a number of players who you can now cut safely from your team.
One of those players is Washington Commanders running back, Antonio Gibson. Gibson hasn’t been involved nearly as much as early projections that he would be, as he is averaging only 5.3 fantasy points per week.
Week 5 was rock bottom for Gibson, who didn’t receive a single carry for the first time in his career. Washington threw the ball every play from early in the second quarter until the final whistle as they were blown out by the Chicago Bears. That helped Gibson some, as he caught four passes for 64 yards.
But, in a week in which four teams were on a bye, that was barely enough to keep him on the Fantasy Football radar. With sixth-round rookie Chris Rodriguez lurking, Gibson is someone you can move on from and not think twice about it.
Another running back who should be on your waiver wire is Dalvin Cook of the New York Jets. Cook was a ballyhooed free agent signing in training camp but hasn’t come close to living up to the hype. The Minnesota Vikings look like they were right to move on as Cook has lacked explosiveness all season.
With Breece Hall having his restrictions lifted and taking over as the lead back in the pecking order, Cook’s value has disappeared. With Michael Carter involved as a third-down back, there is no reason to hold onto Cook. Some managers may want to hold him as a handcuff, but there are better options even for that given the competency of the Jets’ offense.
On the opposite end of the spectrum when it comes to offensive production you have the Buffalo Bills. But, their running back Damien Harris is another player who shouldn’t be on your Fantasy Football roster.
Harris is second-fiddle to Latavius Murray, who is playing behind James Cook. Harris is the player who gets work when a blowout has ensued, making him someone you cannot count on regularly.
An injury to Murray or Cook would turn this into a two-man committee, giving Harris a little more value. But even in that scenario, he would be tough for Fantasy Football managers to trust given that this is still a pass-first offense led by dual-threat Josh Allen.
A wide receiver who will be hitting plenty of waiver wires this week is Michael Gallup of the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys offense isn’t operating at a high level, as even the stars such as running back Tony Pollard and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb have struggled.
That has led to truly middling results for players such as Gallup, who just finished his third game with 15 or fewer yards. When taking a look at his track record, Gallup hasn’t been a Fantasy Football contributor in years. With Brandin Cooks still in the mix and getting healthier by the week, there is no reason to hold onto Gallup at this point.
Last but not least, if you were holding out hope for a Chigoziem Okonkwo breakout, the time to cut bait is upon us. The Tennessee Titans tight end showed last season that he can be a contributor, but he has seen his playing time drop in recent weeks.
The Titans are getting rookie Josh Whyle more involved along with Kevin Rader. This isn’t a passing offense that can sustain multiple pass catchers for Fantasy Football purposes, let alone more than one tight end.
This spot has been tough for managers this season, but Okonkwo hasn’t played well enough to remain on a roster, let alone be a starter. Unless the big plays he produced last season start coming in chunks and his snap count ticks up again, look elsewhere at tight end.
