Week 14 of the NFL season is in the books, and with it, the fantasy football regular season. It’s playoff time, so there’s no time for worrying about what you paid for a player at the draft, just whether or not they’re useful to your fantasy team as currently constituted. This one is brutal and includes some names that you probably don’t want to cut, and that’s fine. This list is just more of a guide to some guys who should be in consideration. To make this list, a player must be on at least 50% of rosters. It does me no good to tell you to cut Trent Sherfield or Ty Johnson, as you took care of that already. Waleed Ismail has you covered for who to add, so it’s time to get our fantasy grim reaper on.
Quarterbacks
Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals (99% rostered)
Kyler Murray suffered a non-contact knee injury on Monday Night Football, which by all reports, is season-ending.
Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins (95% rostered)
Tua had himself quite a hot streak this season, right before he hit the skids the last few weeks. Difficult matchups against the Texans, 49ers and Chargers saw him finish with 16, 13.8, and 12.6 fantasy points in the last three weeks. Unfortunately, things don’t get better for Tua to finish the year, as he has the Bills, Packers, and Patriots in the fantasy playoffs. Those three teams rank 20th or lower in fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks on the year. There’s not much to like about his upcoming schedule, so if you have him in a two-QB tandem, you can move on from him.
Tom Brady, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (88% rostered)
With his dreadful 10.12 fantasy point output this week, Tom Brady has nine-straight games without a 20+ fantasy point day this season. Brady has just one of those this year, with his 25.4-point October 2 game against the Chiefs marking his only great fantasy day of the year. With four weeks left in the season, Brady’s maximum 20+ fantasy point game output is five. If he gets all of those, he would tie his fifth-lowest number of 20+ point fantasy days on the year. I’m counting out Touchdown Tom for the rest of the season, and potentially, his career.
Wide Receivers
Deebo Samuel, San Francisco 49ers (99% rostered)
The best-case scenario for Deebo Samuel was an ankle and MCL sprain, and with the 49ers having a chance to clinch a playoff home game on Thursday, I doubt we see Deebo Samuel again in the regular season. You can move on from the super-talented receiver.
D.J. Moore, Carolina Panthers (92% rostered)
Moore has topped 7 PPR points just once in his last five games, and he averages 4.5 targets per game with Sam Darnold under center. Things might get better next week so hang onto him in ten-team or deeper leagues, but you should definitely move on from him next week in eight-team leagues.
Cooper Kupp, L.A. Rams (85% rostered)
With the Rams’ quarterback room currently being equal parts Baker Mayfield and John Wolford, and with Matthew Stafford likely done for the year, I doubt that we see Cooper Kupp again this year.
Brandin Cooks, Houston Texans (59% rostered)
Brandin Cooks, when healthy, has devolved into a low-ceiling option when he’s healthy… and he’s not healthy. I doubt we see any sort of good Brandin Cooks again this season, so you can just move on from him.
Devin Duvernay, Baltimore Ravens (50% rostered)
I’ve been begging folks to move on from Devin Duvernay for ages, but one target for zero receptions marks his worst output this year. This is also the third time in five games that he’s finished with exactly one target. With some mishmash of something called Anthony Brown, Tyler Huntley, and a compromised Lamar Jackson throwing him the football for the rest of the year, I’m not sure what he might do to make him worthwhile.
Running Backs
Travis Etienne, Jacksonville Jaguars (99% rostered)
If you have enough guys in your league to play a five-on-five basketball game, you don’t have to worry about this. But, Etienne has been extremely difficult to start lately, and things are likely to get worse before they get better. You can move on from him in the shallowest of leagues, but even if you keep him, I can’t see you wanting to start him anytime soon.
Cam Akers, Los Angeles Rams (67% rostered)
I can’t believe I talked myself into Cam Akers this week, and I can’t believe it kind of worked. A late touchdown saved his day, and that came against a terrible Las Vegas Raiders defense. I refuse to be fooled again, and neither should you. Cutting Cam Akers is the only way to make sure that you won’t accidentally start him.
James Cook, Buffalo Bills (61% rostered)
Cook went back to his James Cook ways this week after people talked themselves into him being more than what he is (a pass-catching change-of-pace back). He now has under 10 PPR points in 12-of-13 games this season, and he’s nothing but a handcuff to a seldom-used lead-back role at this point.
Tight Ends
Tyler Higbee, Los Angeles Rams (76% rostered)
Higbee has completely fallen by the wayside without Matthew Stafford around. He has eight targets, four catches, and 25 yards, for 6.5 PPR points in the last two games. The Rams are circling the drain fast, and Higbee is taking a corresponding trip down the pipes.
Foster Moreau, Las Vegas Raiders (54% rostered)
There’s nothing here. I can’t believe we fell for this. He has zero games over 45 yards this year and both of his double-digit fantasy days came when he scored a touchdown.
