Roster management is the single most crucial in-season task for fantasy football managers. Knowing which players to let go is just as important as adding the right ones. For this version of the cut list, we are going to look at players fantasy managers should cut, as well as assess the players most commonly cut in ESPN leagues.
All roster percentages are taken from ESPN.
Most Commonly Cut Players in ESPN Fantasy Football Leagues
Dak Prescott | QB, DAL (54%)
When Dak Prescott went down with his hamstring strain, most fantasy managers were already thinking about dropping him.
Now, we know. Prescott is done for the season with a partially torn hamstring. He can be safely dropped.
Zack Moss | RB, CIN (50%)
Perhaps some fantasy managers were just a bit slow to the news. Zack Moss has a very serious neck injury and was placed on IR two weeks ago. He is done for the season and can be safely dropped. Most importantly, I hope Moss bucks the alarming trend of neck injuries and is able to make a full recovery.
Jordan Mason | RB, SF (76%)
What happens to backup running backs when the best RB in football returns? Exhibit A: Jordan Mason.
Once a weekly RB1, Christian McCaffrey’s return relegated Mason to an afterthought. So much for limiting CMC’s workload. In his first game of the season, McCaffrey played 88% of the snaps.
He’s back.
Christian McCaffrey's season debut:
– 13 rushes for 39 yards
– 6 catches for 68 yards on 7 targets
– 54 of 61 snaps played (88.5%)
– 16.7 fantasy points (RB9 as of now)No easing in RB1. He's back.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) November 11, 2024
Meanwhile, Mason and Isaac Guerendo played a total of three snaps each. That’s problematic for two reasons. First, Mason obviously has less than zero standalone value with a healthy McCaffrey. Second, we don’t even know if Mason is still the handcuff.
The main value in keeping Mason on rosters is knowing he’s an RB1 if McCaffrey gets hurt. We no longer know that, making burning a roster spot on Mason much more speculative. You can drop him if there’s someone better on the waiver wire.
Alexander Mattison | RB, LV (54%)
My guess is the Raiders’ Week 10 bye has a lot to do with why Alexander Mattison is on fewer rosters.
From Weeks 5-8, it looked as if Mattison was the clear RB1 for the Raiders. He had taken over the job, playing about 70% of the snaps in each game and averaging 20.5 opportunities per game.
In Week 9, though, Mattison’s snap share plummeted to 39%. Did he cede the RB1 job back to Zamir White?
No. That is not what happened. The Raiders were faced with an extremely negative game script against the Bengals. White still played a mere 7% of the snaps. The guy taking all of the work from Mattison was Ameer Abdullah. He played 49% of the snaps because he’s the passing-down back. That won’t happen every week.
Mattison is still the favorite to lead this backfield in touches. With a friendly rest-of-season schedule, he should remain on fantasy rosters.
Romeo Doubs | WR, GB (6%)
Romeo Doubs is a very tricky player to figure out, and fantasy managers can’t seem to make up their minds about him. I will admit I’ve had trouble evaluating him over the years as well.
Given how the Green Bay Packers rotate their wide receivers, it’s hard for any one of them to be consistent. But the most consistent of the bunch has been Doubs.
Prior to Green Bay’s bye, Doubs posted a 4-28 dud against the Lions in a game where Jordan Love was clearly far less than 100%. In the three weeks prior, he gave fantasy managers games of 19.9, 17.4, and 10.2 — very useful outings.
The Packers have a couple of tough pass defenses beginning this week. But from Weeks 14-17, they have a very favorable slate of easy opponents. Doubs is more WR4 than WR3, but he’s done enough to warrant remaining on fantasy rosters.
Chris Olave | WR, NO (88%)
You never want to drop a top player under the belief he is done for the season only to see him return at the very end and give some undeserving fantasy roster a boost. There is a chance that could happen with Chris Olave.
Suffering his second concussion of the season on a brutal hit, Olave was placed on IR ahead of Week 10. He is out until at least Week 14.
Given his history of concussions, combined with the New Orleans Saints not going anywhere this year, the prevailing thought is Olave won’t return this year, but it’s not 100%.
You can drop him. He’s probably not going to play again, but understand the risk and accept that there’s at least a chance you may be kicking yourself once the fantasy playoffs start.
Cole Kmet | TE, CHI (48%)
Looking at Cole Kmet’s game log is a wild ride. He has a bunch of unstartable fantasy performances and then two 24-point explosions mixed in.
Whenever a tight end pops off for a game like that, it draws the attention of fantasy managers. But who actually started Kmet in those games?
Since his Week 6 five-catch, 70-yard, two-touchdown performance against the Jaguars, Kmet’s had a bye week, one catch for 14 yards, a zero-target game, and two catches for 13 yards.
This is not a player that needs to be on fantasy rosters. If you want to stream Kmet in a favorable matchup, that’s perfectly fine. But there’s no need to continue hanging on if you’re not starting him.
Additional Players You Should Cut in Fantasy Football
Caleb Williams | QB, CHI (47%)
After seeming like he turned a corner prior to the Chicago Bears’ bye, it’s clear that Caleb Williams has not. The Bears have lost three straight games, scoring a total of 27 points over that span.
Williams has not thrown a touchdown since Week 6 while averaging 156 passing yards per game. He is very far away from being a viable fantasy starter and is not even on the streaming radar in good matchups.
Trevor Lawrence | QB, JAX (30%)
It’s pretty wild to see Trevor Lawrence rostered this heavily. He was only averaging 16.8 fantasy points per game when he got hurt. Now, this left shoulder AC joint sprain is apparently significant enough that the Jaguars may shut him down for the season after the bye.
With the Jaguars’ season over, there’s little incentive for Lawrence to return. Fantasy managers do not need to hold him through another missed game and the bye week to find out if maybe they have a high QB2.
Matthew Stafford | QB, LAR (31%)
When you have the pedigree Matthew Stafford does, fantasy managers look to you when they need a streamer. But we’re now in Week 11 and Stafford has given fantasy managers two starter-worthy performances.
Over the remainder of the season, no QB faces a more difficult slate of pass defenses than Stafford. His next four games are all against top-eight pass defenses. Then, he closes out with three games against pass defenses ranked in the 10-14 range. You can do better.
Tank Bigsby | RB, JAX (54%)
To be fair, we could really call every Jacksonville Jaguars player a drop at this point. Jacksonville’s offense is completely cooked without Trevor Lawrence — but we’ll stick with Tank Bigsby.
I still think Bigsby is the best running back on the team. But what I think doesn’t matter. Travis Etienne Jr. returned to the clear RB1 role against the Minnesota Vikings, tripling up Bigsby in snaps. As a result, the sophomore carried the ball just two times for four yards.
Bigsby was already not involved as a pass catcher. In a Mac Jones offense, his touchdown upside is even lower, which is where all his fantasy value lies.
Khalil Herbert | RB, CIN (14%)
The former Chicago RB’s roster percentage shot up over the past week following his trade to the Cincinnati Bengals. It made sense as we did not know what Khalil Herbert’s role would be.
With Zack Moss done for the season and the Bengals not particularly confident in Trayveon Williams, it does appear as if Herbert is the RB2. If Chase Brown were to get hurt, he would be the presumptive favorite for carries. If that were to happen, though, the already pass-heavy Bengals would likely throw even more.
Herbert still has speculative handcuff value. You don’t absolutely need to drop him, but with Brown playing over 80% of the snaps, Herbert has no hope of any fantasy value unless the starter goes down. You don’t have to hang onto him.
Javonte Williams | RB, DEN (85%)
In situations like this, I typically prefer to wait a week just to be sure. But Javonte Williams is worth mentioning as a cut candidate anyway.
What we saw last week was jarring. Sean Payton had been promising more touches for Audric Estimé for a couple of weeks. He finally delivered, and it came at Williams’ expense.
Estimé led Denver’s backfield in snaps and touches, while Williams played a season-low 29% of the snaps. He saw just a single carry and two targets, while the rookie carried the ball 14 times. After the game, Payton expressed confidence in Estimé and indicated he would continue to get more reps.
Williams was surviving purely on volume. That’s completely gone. So, he can also be gone from your fantasy teams.
Xavier Worthy | WR, KC (81%)
Fantasy managers are starting to figure it out. Xavier Worthy is yet another in a long line of speedsters who were “just fast.” That’s all Worthy can do. He’s not yet an NFL-caliber wide receiver but perhaps will improve ahead of his sophomore year.
I won’t completely shut the door on Worthy’s career, but if I had to place a wager, I would say he’s another John Ross or Kevin White.
Patrick Mahomes completion percentage this season when targeting:
* Xavier Worthy: 48.7%
* Everyone else: 73.5%— Adam Levitan (@adamlevitan) November 5, 2024
Either way, Worthy has no fantasy value this season. There’s been a very clear decision by the Chiefs to move away from using him. He’s still on the field and running routes, but the designed plays are gone.
Worthy has caught one of six targets over his past two games. He’s scored 2.1 and -1.0 fantasy points. It’s time to move on.
Jalen Tolbert | WR, DAL (20%)
Many fantasy managers have already moved on from Jalen Tolbert. The Dallas Cowboys’ WR2 was trending upwards a few weeks ago, having clearly assumed the role previously belonging to Brandin Cooks.
Most years, the Cowboys’ WR2 role is worth chasing in fantasy. This year, all things Cowboys are now dead.
Against the Eagles in Week 10, Tolbert caught three passes for 14 yards. It was actually an impressive total, considering the Cowboys had 66 total passing yards in the entire game.
That’s where we are with this team. Whether it’s Cooper Rush or Trey Lance under center, neither is anything remotely close to an NFL starter. CeeDee Lamb has now been relegated to a WR3, at best. There is no hope for Tolbert, and he can be dropped everywhere.
Keon Coleman | WR, BUF (63%)
I don’t want to recommend dropping Keon Coleman. However, extenuating circumstances have presented themselves.
Coleman missed last week’s game with a wrist injury. Head coach Sean McDermott was a bit cryptic in describing Coleman’s timeline, but the gist is that this is not exactly a short-term injury.
Coleman is almost certainly not going to play in Week 11, and then Buffalo is on a bye in Week 12.
Prior to getting hurt, Coleman had only given fantasy managers a total of three games with double-digit fantasy points. Now set to be useless for at least two more weeks, it’s a tough ask for fantasy managers to hold a speculative player that long.
Parker Washington | WR, JAX (3%)
Not many of you are still rostering Parker Washington, so I won’t belabor the point too much. Washington was a fine speculative add when Christian Kirk was lost for the season and Brian Thomas Jr. suffered a chest injury that was initially expected to cost him multiple games. There was a chance Washington would serve as the Jaguars’ WR1.
Now, Thomas is healthy, and Lawrence might be done for the season. Jones is a death blow to Thomas’ fantasy value, who is extremely talented. Washington is a rotational depth piece we were hoping could be propped up by volume, but that hope is now gone.
Mason Tipton | WR, NO (3%)
In Week 7, Mason Tipton led the Saints with nine targets, catching six for 45 yards. Since then, he’s had games of two targets and two receptions, three targets, and no receptions, and, last week, no targets.
Need I say more?
Zach Ertz | TE, WAS (57%)
It feels like every week, Zach Ertz is simultaneously a viable TE streamer and a cut candidate. He exists in a fantasy football purgatory.
Ertz had a nice three-week stretch of double-digit fantasy points from Weeks 6-8. Since then, he’s posted games of 1.5 and 7.1.
With that said, Ertz did see eight targets against the Steelers. He’s still playing 75% of the snaps and the clear TE1 in one of the best offenses in football.
Ertz is not so good that you absolutely can’t drop him. So, you have my blessing to do so. But if you want to hold, that’s perfectly fine as well.