Much of fantasy football's in-season team strategy centers around which players to pick up from the waiver wire or to target in the trade market. However, roster spots are a premium (and finite) resource. Cutting a player - or adding them to a trade - opens a roster spot for a key waiver wire addition or the flexibility to keep a currently injured player through a missed game or two. Here are the key players to cut or trade after Week 13:
*Roster Rate references data collected from myfantasyleague.com leagues*
SHALLOW FORMATS
*15-18 roster spots*
RB Devin Singletary, Buffalo Bills
Why: The tide has turned in the Buffalo backfield in recent weeks. Singletary dominated the passing game early in the season, but the past two weeks have James Cook in a full-blown committee with Singletary and out-targeting the veteran 11 targets to just three for Singletary, who was already a receiving (and overall volume) dependent player with just four rushing touchdowns on the season. The Bills are also 24th in the NFL in running back goal-line carries.
RB Michael Carter, New York Jets
Why: Carter missed a chunk of Week 12 and all of Week 13, paving the way for Zonovan Knight to rise. Carter is a tough-to-start option once healthy, which is still a variable with a questionable tag for Week 14 by Jene Bramel in his Monday Injury Rounds. Knight and Ty Johnson, at a minimum, will squeeze down Carter's lineup appeal to close the fantasy season and lower his usage floor.
RB Gus Edwards, Baltimore Ravens
Why: RB37 in Roster Rate, Edwards has returned from injury for just 22 touches over the past two weeks with his typical lack of involvement in the passing game. Kenyan Drake was the starter in Week 13 by snaps, and Baltimore was/is already one of the avoid backfields by HLO analysis, being 21st in goal-line carries and 28th in running back targets this season.
RB Zamir White, Las Vegas Raiders
Why: White has made zero progress up the depth chart to be considered the injury-away and high-confidence option should Josh Jacobs miss time. In Week 13, White saw four snaps (33% of Ameer Abdullah) and ran two routes (20% of Abdullah) in the RB2/3 rotation as the most recent example of the ongoing trend. White may see the most carries in a committee without Jacobs, but consider White's receiving upside in that scenario minimal.
MEDIUM DEPTH
*18-22 roster spots*
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