Roster management is the single most crucial in-season task for fantasy football managers. Knowing which players to let go is as important as adding the right guys. Which players find themselves on our Week 10 fantasy football cut list?
All roster percentages are taken from Yahoo.
Players You Should Cut in Fantasy Football
Caleb Williams, QB, Chicago Bears (73%)
I was hesitant to fully recommend cutting Caleb Williams last week. It was the Chicago Bears’ first game after their bye, and Williams looked like he had turned a corner previously.
Clearly, he hasn’t.
This doesn’t mean Williams won’t eventually figure it out. But right now, this is not a player even remotely close to the circle of trust in fantasy.
Williams has scored fewer than 10 points in two straight games. He’s failed to reach double digits in four total starts and only given fantasy managers three useful games. If he shows signs of turning things around, you can just pick him back up.
Dak Prescott, QB, Dallas Cowboys (88%)
What a disaster this season has been for the Dallas Cowboys. I was hopeful they would turn things around after the bye. A more favorable schedule set Dak Prescott up for a similarly scorching finish to the season like he had last year when he was an elite QB1 post-bye onward.
Instead, Prescott had one of his worst games of the season in Week 9, throwing for 133 yards and one touchdown, culminating in a hamstring strain that ended his day early.
The Cowboys’ schedule remains very favorable going forward, but this offense and team look broken. Even with the slate of soft pass defenses, I’ve lost all confidence in Prescott. Add in the fact that he’s going on injured reserve, and fantasy managers don’t need to hold him any longer.
Travis Etienne Jr., RB, Jacksonville Jaguars (91%)
This was Travis Etienne Jr.’s first game back after a two-game absence due to a hamstring strain. Head coach Doug Pederson said Etienne would remain the starter because he doesn’t believe in guys losing their jobs due to injury.
I also don’t think Etienne should lose his job due to injury. I think he should lose his job because Tank Bigsby is the better player.
Regardless, Etienne looked healthy but didn’t return to his previous role. He played just 31% of the snaps. Bigsby was the lead back with Etienne sharing the passing-down role with D’Ernest Johnson.
Last year, Etienne was purely a product of volume. That volume is gone, and it’s never coming back.
Etienne was probably droppable a month ago. He’s definitely droppable now.
Etienne playing hot potato, interception Eagles pic.twitter.com/HTP2giX8ND
— Fitz (@LaurieFitzptrck) November 3, 2024
Jerome Ford, RB, Cleveland Browns (40%)
If you want to give Jerome Ford a pass for it being his first game back from a strained hamstring, that’s perfectly fine. However, this is Nick Chubb’s backfield now.
Chubb has been sufficiently ramped up and is set to continue dominating carries, and that relegates Ford to pure handcuff.
Ford still has value as a handcuff. If Chubb gets hurt, he’ll be startable. But I understand if you can’t roster every pure handcuff. Ford has no standalone value and can be dropped if necessary.
Devin Singletary, RB, New York Giants (65%)
There was always the chance Tyrone Tracy Jr. would take the RB1 job from Devin Singletary. It’s unfortunate when a player loses his job due to injury, but that’s ultimately what happened here. Singletary got hurt, missed two games, and Tracy was so good that he couldn’t be denied.
The problem for Singletary is Tracy didn’t just flip a timeshare — he completely vanquished the former lead back.
To start the season, Singletary was playing around 70% of the snaps. Since returning from injury, though, he’s been below 40% and has only averaged six opportunities per game.
There is still value in Singletary as the Tracy handcuff. Similar to the Ford/Chubb scenario, if Tracy were to get hurt, Singletary would be the lead back again, with Eric Gray taking passing-down work. But if that’s not enough of a reason to hold Singletary, feel free to let him go.
Zack Moss, RB, Cincinnati Bengals (69%)
The past month’s worth of production for Zack Moss was already reason enough to cut him. Chase Brown has completely taken over the RB1 role, and Moss hasn’t hit double-digit fantasy points since Week 4.
Now, Moss is dealing with a neck injury that head coach Zac Taylor said will sideline him “indefinitely.” He’s been placed on IR and is done for the season.
It’s already Week 10, with just five weeks left in the fantasy regular season. There is nothing we want to hear less than “neck injury.” No injury has ended more careers early than neck issues. Hopefully, the neck issue is not long term, but regardless, you can drop Moss.
Jordan Mason, RB, San Francisco 49ers (81%)
I don’t have all of the answers. Sometimes, there are situations where we truly just don’t know. This is one of those times.
Christian McCaffrey is set to make his season debut this Sunday. That obviously means no other 49ers running back will be startable in fantasy. However, someone is still the handcuff, and McCaffrey is no guarantee to stay healthy. That guy deserves a spot on fantasy rosters. I’m just not entirely sure it’s still Jordan Mason.
What gives handcuffs their value is the likelihood they will benefit if the starter goes down and their ability to produce at a high level if thrust into the RB1 role. We know the latter to be true with Mason; we just don’t know if the former remains true.
There’s a nonzero chance Isaac Guerendo is now the guy you want behind McCaffrey. That fact alone justifies dropping Mason, as we are no longer certain he would stand to benefit if CMC missed more time.
You definitely don’t need to drop Mason. If you can afford to hold him, by all means, do so. This is more for managers who are waffling over whether to continue stashing Mason. If you need the roster spot, he can go.
Christian Watson, WR, Green Bay Packers (47%)
We definitely don’t want to overreact to the Green Bay Packers struggling against the Detroit Lions in bad weather with a banged-up Jordan Love. However, that’s not why Christian Watson is on the cut list.
Watson is not a priority member of the Packers’ passing attack. While he has seen 13 targets over his last three games, he’s caught seven of them for a total of 76 yards.
Watson has scored more than 8.7 fantasy points twice this season and only played 56% of the snaps last week. It’s surprising to see him so heavily rostered; he can be safely dropped.
Jaylen Waddle, WR, Miami Dolphins (93%)
When considering dropping a player with the name value like Jaylen Waddle, I have no problem extending him significant latitude. You don’t drop a guy like Waddle after a couple of down games. We need to be sure.
I’ve seen enough — I’m sure.
We’re now through nine weeks of the season. In Week 1, Waddle scored 16.2 fantasy points, but his best game since then was 8.6.
This isn’t purely lack of production. Waddle is not being targeted. He earned two targets against the Buffalo Bills, good for a 7% target share.
He also inexplicably did…this.
Jaylen Waddle -3.5 fantasy points pic.twitter.com/vEUnRTlP0d
— Chives (@jarrett_daveler) November 3, 2024
We’ve waited long enough. Perhaps Waddle isn’t actually good enough, maybe he’s hurt, or the Dolphins’ offense is broken. Whatever it is, he’s nowhere close to being startable in fantasy. If his name wasn’t Jaylen Waddle, you would’ve dropped him a month ago.
Stefon Diggs, WR, Houston Texans (49%)
I really hate including injured players on the cut list. However, the primary goal is to give sound fantasy advice. For the half of you out there still rostering Stefon Diggs, he’s done for the season with a torn ACL and can be safely dropped.
Christian Kirk, WR, Jacksonville Jaguars (37%)
This one echoes Diggs. Christian Kirk has a broken collarbone, and his season is also over. He can be safely dropped as well.
Dalton Schultz, TE, Houston Texans (64%)
If you need a tight end to not get you zero, Dalton Schultz is your guy. If you need double-digit fantasy points…he can’t help you.
Schultz hasn’t hit 10 fantasy points all season. Most weeks, he’s somewhere between four and seven fantasy points. Even at tight end, you can stream better production than that.
Schultz couldn’t improve his production even in four games without Nico Collins and one without Diggs. With Collins due back, any semblance of upside Schultz may have possessed is gone.
Cole Kmet, TE, Chicago Bears (67%)
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 TE 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, and a zero-target game.
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. Yet, there’s no need to continue hanging on if you’re not starting him.
Zach Ertz, TE, Washington Commanders (39%)
I waffled on whether to include Zach Ertz in the cut section or the maybe don’t cut section. Either one is the correct answer.
Ertz was coming off of three straight double-digit fantasy point outings before his 1.5 dud against the Giants. However, that “upside” (if you want to call it that) still exists.
Tight end is a tough position this year. Ertz is the clear TE1 for the Commanders — he just had a bad game, due in large part to Jayden Daniels attempting a season-low 22 passes.
Ertz is by no means a must-roster player. You can drop him if you have another tight end. But also note that bad weeks happen, and Ertz should still be startable as a TE2 going forward.
Players You Might Consider Cutting But Shouldn’t
Tank Bigsby, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars (68%)
Etienne’s return certainly put a damper on Bigsby’s production. With all three Jacksonville Jaguars running backs in the fold, it was an ugly three-man committee where no one produced. Bigsby ran the ball eight times for 22 yards — that’s it.
It’s understandable if you want no part of this offense. None of these backs are startable right now, and there’s a distinct possibility that unless one of them gets hurt, it remains that way.
With that said, Bigsby is still the lead back. Etienne may have started, but Bigsby played 51% of the snaps compared to just 31% for the former. Alarmingly for Etienne, it was Bigsby who ran more routes.
Given what we know Bigsby’s ceiling to be, combined with him having the goal-line role, I would hold onto him for at least another week.
Diontae Johnson, WR, Baltimore Ravens (86%)
I want to preface this by saying there is a very real chance Diontae Johnson will be in the other section of this column within a week or two. Zay Flowers is locked in as the Baltimore Ravens’ WR1, and Rashod Bateman has been playing pretty well.
Head coach John Harbaugh indicated Flowers and Bateman were not about to lose their jobs, which means Johnson could very well be the WR3 in a Lamar Jackson offense.
That’s not a fantasy-relevant role. However, I fear fantasy managers are considering dropping Johnson because he didn’t catch any passes. But that was to be expected. Johnson played 17 snaps and ran six routes, having joined the team a few days prior.
Johnson’s role is going to increase going forward. Will it be enough for fantasy? That remains to be seen. I’m willing to give him another week.
Jauan Jennings, WR, San Francisco 49ers (50%)
The last time Jauan Jennings gave fantasy managers anything resembling a useful performance was in Week 4 when he caught three passes for 88 yards. Jennings was legitimately droppable for a couple of weeks. Then, Brandon Aiyuk tore his ACL.
With Aiyuk done for the season, Jennings is once again San Francisco’s WR2. We just haven’t seen it because he’s missed two games with a hip issue.
Jennings is expected to return this week. While McCaffrey is also supposed to be back, and Ricky Pearsall has returned, I still expect Jennings to serve as the WR2. At the very least, I want to see a game with Jennings and Deebo Samuel Sr. together post-Aiyuk before cutting him.
Romeo Doubs, WR, Green Bay Packers (64%)
Prior to last week’s dud, Romeo Doubs was coming off three straight games of double-digit fantasy points. While he’s not necessarily a must-roster, Doubs still has the most consistent role of the Packers’ WRs.
Against the Lions, Doubs played the most snaps and ran the most routes. A big part of his lack of production was the combination of poor weather and Love clearly being far less than 100% with his tweaked groin.
The Packers are on bye this week. If you don’t feel compelled to hold Doubs through this week, it’s not an egregious drop.
But there’s still WR4 value here. Love should return at 100% in Week 11, and Doubs is technically the WR1. Hold if you can.
Wan’Dale Robinson, WR, New York Giants (55%)
The PPR scam from earlier this season appears to have been figured out. Over the past three weeks, Wan’Dale Robinson’s production has dipped considerably, and he’s failed to reach double-digit fantasy points in any of those contests.
Over the past two weeks, the more concerning issue has arisen. Robinson has seen a total of nine targets. If the volume is going away, there’s no reason to continue rostering Robinson.
With that said, the Giants have the most favorable rest-of-season schedule for wide receivers. They also play enough good offenses that shootouts are a possibility. Even with the bye coming up in Week 11, I wouldn’t cut bait on Robinson just yet.
Tyler Lockett, WR, Seattle Seahawks (63%)
This is an interesting time for fantasy managers to consider cutting Tyler Lockett. Typically, managers get fed up with underperforming players after poor outings, but Lockett just posted 15.3 fantasy points.
Now, to be fair, he did that without DK Metcalf in the lineup and saw a mere four targets, catching three for 63 yards and a touchdown. But Lockett has had enough useful weeks throughout the season that he’s worth hanging onto.
Jordan Addison, WR, Minnesota Vikings (71%)
Much like Lockett, fantasy managers dropping Jordan Addison right now is perplexing. He’s coming off a game where he caught all five of his targets for 42 yards and a touchdown.
I do understand the frustration with Addison, though. He’s seen more than five targets just once all season. Justin Jefferson dominates looks, and now with T.J. Hockenson back, the competition only got stiffer.
At the same time, Addison is a talented player. Given how incredible he was as a rookie, amassing over 900 receiving yards, it’s probably worth it to hold and see if he can develop some more consistency going forward.