Byes: Atlanta (Matt Ryan), Buffalo (Kyle Orton), Chicago (Jay Cutler), Detroit (Matt Stafford), Green Bay (Aaron Rodgers), Tennessee Titans (Zach Mettenberger)
As you can see from the above list of teams on a bye in Week 9, we’re looking at six fantasy signal callers we won’t be able to insert into our lineups this week.
Three are of the QB1 variety: Jay Cutler, Matthew Stafford, and Aaron Rodgers. One is of the low-end QB1/high-end QB2 tier: Matt Ryan. Kyle Orton has proven himself to be worthy of at least QB2 status, and Mettenberger might join him at some point.
In terms of players that might be available on your waiver wire this week or that you could swing a trade for, there are a few names…
The New York Jets followed the lead of their AFC East division rivals the Buffalo Bills and benched their second-year starting quarterback.
Like fellow 2013 draft pick E.J. Manuel, Geno Smith has been relegated to backup duty after throwing three interceptions in Week 8. For how long? No one knows. Maybe he’ll be back in by halftime vs. Kansas City this week. You can’t really predict anything that happens in New York with the Jets.
Michael Vick will get a chance to start in the NFL once again, and hopefully he’ll be better prepared this time around. The first time he relieved Geno at quarterback was in Week 5 vs. San Diego. Vick completed 42 percent of his passes that day for 47 yards. He tacked on 14 yards rushing.
Last week saw Vick improve upon his Week 5 cameo, by completing 50 percent of his passes for 153 yards. He did throw one interception though, but added 69 yards rushing on eight attempts.
Even at 34, Vick can still move, and rushing yards from quarterbacks are valuable in the world of fake football.
This all depends on Tony Romo‘s back. We saw last week when Brandon Weeden came in for Romo that he was able to move the chains, completing 4-of-6 passes for 60 yards and a touchdown. Dallas takes on the Cardinals this week, who are allowing opposing fantasy quarterbacks to score 19.05 fantasy points/game.
Three of the last four quarterbacks to go up against Arizona (Peyton Manning, Kirk Cousins, Nick Foles) combined to throw for 1,244 yards and eight touchdowns. Weeden would make for a solid QB2 streaming option in Week 9 if he were forced to start for an injured Romo.
Kyle Orton
Not everyone is sold on Kyle Orton as a fantasy quarterback, but all he has done since taking over the job in Buffalo is score the eighth-most fantasy points at the position from Week 5 to Week 8.
Orton’s Week 8 performance, where he scored the fourth-most fantasy points at the position will probably lead to him costing you in a trade, but there are many owners who have Orton stashed on their bench as a QB3 or QB4. Some might have even dropped him, as the Bills have a Week 8 bye, and needed the roster space. It happens. So it doesn’t hurt to check the waiver wire of your league to see if Orton’s available.
Robert Griffin III
Just a gentle reminder: RG3 is on track to play this week. Even if he doesn’t a return to the field in Week 11 after Washington’s Week 10 bye is a near certainty. Pick him up if he’s still available.
*Stats used in this article from Pro-Football-Reference, Pro Football Focus, FantasyData, and Yahoo!
