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 12 fantasy football cut list?
All roster percentages are taken from Yahoo.
Players You Should Cut in Fantasy Football
Kirk Cousins, QB, Atlanta Falcons (69%)
Facing a very good Denver Broncos defense, Kirk Cousins had his worst game since Week 1, throwing for 173 scoreless yards with one interception. It was his second consecutive game without a touchdown pass.
The only reason Cousins is so heavily rostered is because of his two games against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The reality is that Cousins has not performed anywhere near a level deserving to be on fantasy rosters or started on a weekly basis.
Against the Bucs, Cousins has posted games of 35.36 and 28.64 fantasy points. Cousins versus the Bucs in 2024 is the best fantasy QB in history. Against everyone else, though, he’s averaged 11.4 fantasy points per game.
The Atlanta Falcons are on bye this week and the Bucs are not on the schedule anymore. There should be a mass exodus of Cousins from fantasy rosters this week.
Russell Wilson, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers (50%)
Did you add Russell Wilson to stream him against the Baltimore Ravens last week? I recommended it. Sorry about that.
Against the league’s worst pass defense, Wilson threw for 205 scoreless yards. You’re certainly not starting him next week against the Cleveland Browns, and he’s nowhere near good enough to warrant remaining on fantasy rosters unless you’re using him.
Perhaps Wilson will be a viable streamer at some point in the future, but you don’t need him now and can return him to the waiver wire.
Caleb Williams, QB, Chicago Bears (54%)
After seeming like he turned a corner before the Chicago Bears’ bye, it’s clear that Caleb Williams has not. The Bears have lost four straight games, scoring a total of 46 points over that span.
Williams has not thrown a touchdown since Week 6 while averaging fewer than 200 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.
Daniel Jones, QB, New York Giants (12%)
The New York Giants QB was staring at the single most favorable schedule for quarterbacks for the remainder of the season. Five of the Giants’ next six opponents rank in the bottom 10 against the pass. That made Daniel Jones an appealing stash in deeper leagues for some fantasy managers.
Well, Jones has been benched for Tommy DeVito. In all likelihood, the Giants will move forward with DeVito as the starter and Drew Lock as the backup. Jones projects to be the emergency QB3.
Coach Daboll: We are making a quarterback switch from Daniel Jones to Tommy DeVito. After evaluating and watching a lot of tape, that's the reason we are going with Tommy. Drew Lock will be the backup. This was a necessary move for us and I'm looking forward to working with Tommy… pic.twitter.com/OTPmSCIq0P
— New York Giants (@Giants) November 18, 2024
Travis Etienne Jr., RB, Jacksonville Jaguars (90%)
There are certainly fantasy managers out there who thought Tank Bigsby’s absence would lead to some sort of improvement from Travis Etienne Jr. I was not one of them, putting Etienne on the sit list (and cut list) last week, despite the expectation that Bigsby would not play.
The Jacksonville Jaguars never had a chance going into Detroit with Mac Jones at quarterback. It was an awful matchup for Etienne, but that doesn’t excuse his horrid performance. If you watched the game, you would see a running back who does not belong in the NFL. On several occasions, Etienne turned something into nothing, making what should’ve been a five-to-seven-yard rush into a two-yard rush.
Would you believe me if I told you Travis Etienne didn't get a 1st down on this play? pic.twitter.com/rLToJTBORV
— Ricky (@HHHHHawg) November 18, 2024
Etienne’s 6.3 fantasy points against the Detroit Lions marked his highest total since Week 5. The Jaguars are off in Week 12, meaning you can’t start Etienne even if you wanted to for some reason. Then, they have consecutive games against very good run defenses.
It can be difficult to drop your second-round pick, even this late in the season with this large of a sample size. However, Etienne has been one of the worst players in the NFL at any position this season. Please drop him.
Tank Bigsby, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars (47%)
If Etienne is a drop, how can Bigsby also be a drop? Welcome to the 2024 Jaguars. Neither of these backs has any fantasy value.
Etienne took the RB1 role back from Bigsby two weeks ago. Then, Bigsby picked up an ankle injury that cost him Week 11.
Even as a handcuff to Etienne, Bigsby’s upside in a Jones-led offense is minimal. With no role in the passing game, Bigsby would be a touchdown-dependent RB2 on an offense that can’t score.
Audric Estimé, RB, Denver Broncos (51%)
Well … so much for Audric Estimé continuing to see looks. One week after seemingly vanquishing Javonte Williams, the rookie carried the ball just six times for 16 yards, with most of his production coming after the game was well out of hand.
Estimé played a total of 14 snaps in an exclusively positive game script for the Broncos. That doesn’t exactly scream “potential fantasy starter.”
With their bye week in front of them and only one soft run defense on the schedule, even if Estimé does see more work unexpectedly, he is unlikely to do much with it. As quickly as you added him you can also drop him.
Tyjae Spears, RB, Tennessee Titans (48%)
I’ve held onto Tyjae Spears far too long in the leagues where I drafted him. That’s my mistake.
At what point has Spears been even remotely useful? He scored 10.1 and 11.9 fantasy points in Weeks 3 and 4. Aside from that, he hasn’t scored more than 7.2, while missing three games due to injury.
There’s certainly some hope for Spears if Tony Pollard were to miss time, but what was an ambiguous backfield entering the year hasn’t been for pretty much the entire season. Spears is nothing more than a low-upside handcuff.
Jordan Mason, RB, San Francisco 49ers (55%)
One of the most dropped players across ESPN and Sleeper leagues over the past week, Jordan Mason has completely reverted to questionable handcuff status upon Christian McCaffrey’s return.
Once an 80% snap share player, Mason has played a total of five snaps in the two games McCaffrey has played. It goes without saying that there is absolutely nothing here for fantasy unless McCaffrey gets hurt again.
Khalil Herbert, RB, Cincinnati Bengals (16%)
Anyone still rostering Khalil Herbert, hoping for some sort of role behind Chase Brown can give up on that dream. I genuinely have no idea what the Cincinnati Bengals would do if Brown got hurt. He’s averaging an 85% snap share since Zack Moss was lost for the season and is a true three-down back.
Given how little Herbert is even on the field, it’s hard to imagine he suddenly becomes fantasy-relevant if Brown goes down. Either way, you don’t need to continue stashing him to find out.
Jaylen Waddle, WR, Miami Dolphins (89%)
Name value is a powerful thing. It’s the only explanation as to why a wide receiver who has not scored above 8.6 fantasy points since Week 1 is still on 89% of fantasy rosters.
I don’t really know what more needs to be said. Jaylen Waddle is not the second option in this passing game. He’s not even third. At best, he’s fourth behind Tyreek Hill, De’Von Achane, and Jonnu Smith.
The fact that Waddle led all WRs in routes run doesn’t matter if he’s not earning targets. Since the Dolphins’ Week 6 bye, Waddle is averaging 3.8 targets per game. No player seeing that little volume is worth rostering.
Diontae Johnson, WR, Baltimore Ravens (69%)
Shame on me for thinking a wide receiver getting traded from Bryce Young/Andy Dalton to Lamar Jackson would be good for his fantasy value. Why did the Ravens even bother trading for Diontae Johnson?
It’s now been three weeks and Johnson has seen snap shares of 30%, 8%, and 18%. He has one reception for six yards as a member of the Ravens. Johnson’s eight-catch, 122-yard, one-touchdown elite WR1 outing from Week 3 seems like a lifetime ago.
We hear you loud and clear John Harbaugh. You feel good with the pieces you have. If you’re not going to use Johnson, neither are we.
Demarcus Robinson, WR, Los Angeles Rams (29%)
The Los Angeles Rams are back. All the way back. This is once again the Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp show, and that leaves very little for anyone else.
Demarcus Robinson has three catches for 42 yards over his last two games. Now, to be fair, he did post lines of 6-94-2 and 2-35-2 in the two games before that. There will still likely be games he pops, but his role in this passing game is purely accidental at this point. Therefore, you don’t need to hang onto him.
Pat Freiermuth, TE, Pittsburgh Steelers (57%)
It’s kind of incredible that Pat Freiermuth is this heavily rostered this late in the season. What more evidence do we need that he’s not a productive tight end?
Freiermuth averaged 6.4 fantasy points per game last year. He’s averaging 8.1 ppg this year and has only even gotten to double-digit fantasy points because he has three games with touchdowns. Well, he only hit double-digits in two of those games. You are never trusting Freiermuth.
Cole Kmet, TE, Chicago Bears (51%)
Cole Kmet had his best outing since Week 6 last week. It consisted of three catches on three targets for 42 yards. He scored a whopping 7.2 fantasy points.
Kmet has now given fantasy managers two elite TE1 efforts and nothing else useful. If you think you can guess when his next one will come, I wish you the best of luck. Kmet can be dropped from fantasy rosters.
Mike Gesicki, TE, Cincinnati Bengals (32%)
As it turns out, Mike Gesicki is incredibly easy to project for fantasy. Is Tee Higgins playing? If no, start Gesicki. If yes, keep him as far away from fantasy lineups as possible.
Gesicki is a unique asset in that he’s a handcuff TE to a WR. If Higgins misses time again, Gesicki is back on the menu. But with Higgins back on Sunday night in Week 11, Gesicki simply wasn’t targeted.
He was still the clear TE1. He ran 43 routes. Joe Burrow simply had no reason to look his way with Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase on the field. As a result, Gesicki saw two targets, catching neither. There’s absolutely no reason to hold him through the bye week.
Players You May Be Considering Dropping But Shouldn’t
Xavier Worthy, WR, Kansas City Chiefs (72%)
It’s only fitting that one week after I finally put him on the cut list, with JuJu Smith-Schuster returning against a good pass defense, Xavier Worthy finally balls out. The Kansas City Chiefs rookie caught four passes for 61 yards and a touchdown. The first play of the game was a designed carry for Worthy.
There was a deliberate effort to involve Worthy early in the Chiefs’ loss to the Buffalo Bills. However, once again, there was a missed connection between Patrick Mahomes and Worthy where the speedy WR could not keep his feet in bounds on a long reception where he easily should have been able to do so. This is at least the third time what should have been an easy reception wound up being incomplete.
Would be a lot cooler if Xavier Worthy and Patrick Mahomes could figure out this whole deep ball thing pic.twitter.com/IDUYMR4RVr
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) November 18, 2024
I am saying to hold Worthy for now to see what happens, but based on the way this game went, I don’t think Worthy will suddenly become startable in fantasy.
Ricky Pearsall, WR, San Francisco 49ers (46%)
After trending upward for three straight games, Ricky Pearsall vanished in the San Francisco 49ers’ loss to the Seattle Seahawks. The rookie saw a mere two targets, catching neither of them. Fantasy managers who started him in desperation got literally nothing.
There is some good news, though. Pearsall did run as the clear WR3. Jauan Jennings and Deebo Samuel Sr. were the top two in routes run, but Pearsall was third. I think he’s worth holding to see if this was a blip or a trend. If it happens again, he’ll be in the main section of the cut list next week.
Tucker Kraft, TE, Green Bay Packers (73%)
After a game where he saw a single target and did not catch it, fantasy managers are justifiably frustrated at the Green Bay Packers TE. He is the third-most dropped tight end in Sleeper leagues.
There’s definitely a chance Tucker Kraft’s run as a fantasy TE1 is over. With a very difficult schedule over the next three weeks, I wouldn’t necessarily blame anyone for dropping Kraft.
At the same time, it was one bad game. From Weeks 4-8, Kraft scored at least 12.3 fantasy points in four of those five games.
It’s more likely than not that Kraft is properly on the cut list next week, but I’m willing to give him one more week before abandoning the ship.