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 11:
Roster Rate references data collected from myfantasyleague.com leagues
Shallow Formats
*15-18 roster spots*
QB Caleb Williams, Chicago
Why: Williams' lone highlight games have been against the woeful Dallas and Cincinnati defenses. In the other eight games this season, Williams has a total of six passing touchdowns and just one multi-touchdown performance. The schedule is daunting down the stretch for Williams with an improving Pittsburgh defense, then a gauntlet of Philadelphia, Green Bay, Cleveland, and Green Bay to follow. The trend line for Williams between last season and this season is exploiting the worst defenses in the league while struggling against the rest. The next five weeks are exclusively "the rest".
RB Tyrone Tracy Jr., NY Giants
Why: The Giants are running a full-blown committee in their backfield, and Tracy has been losing goal-line opportunities to Devin Singletary (and Jaxson Dart). Detroit and New England are brutal matchups the next two weeks as well with a bye to follow. The Giants are one of the few backfields with no auto-start lineup option without an injury to further clarify and concentrate the usage.
RB Tony Pollard, Tennessee
Why: Like the Giants, the Titans are running an even split in their backfield. Add to that the likelihood Tennessee is in trail mode for most games, and that their matchups have no target strength-of-schedule appeal, and Pollard and Tyjae Spears are both avoid players down the stretch. Pollard was even low-upside in the early weeks of the season when Spears was inactive.