The injury bug struck the quarterback position again in Week 10, as starters Jay Cutler, Peyton Manning, Seneca Wallace, Jake Locker, Christian Ponder and Terrelle Pryor all dealt with varying degrees of injuries.
The biggest injury news to hit the above group of starting quarterbacks belongs to Jake Locker, as it has been confirmed by the Titans he will miss the rest of the season with a Lisfranc injury. Locker’s injury is a blow to 2-QB league streamers, who had penciled in Locker as a rest of season QB2, ditching their QB2 streaming ways.
The rest of the quarterbacks listed are day-to-day or week-to-week, with only Seneca Wallace and Jay Cutler confirmed to miss any playing time, as they have both been ruled out for the week.
Peyton Manning is in no danger of missing this week’s divisional showdown versus the Kansas City Chiefs, as of now. There is no word yet on the official statuses of Christian Ponder and Terrelle Pryor though, but at this time, neither are expected to be out of action Week 11.
Whether you lost Jake Locker for the year in your 2-QB league, or you’re looking to find a way to cover the Week 11 byes of Tony Romo and Kellen Clemens, below are a few quarterback names to keep an eye out for on the waiver wire of your 2-QB league.
Ryan Fitzpatrick
Heading into Monday Night’s game between the Miami Dolphins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, only three quarterbacks scored more points than Ryan Fitzpatrick, who subbed in for an injured Jake Locker, and they were Drew Brees, Robert Griffin III, and Peyton Manning.
It wasn’t the first time Fitzpatrick found himself hanging out in the QB1 tier of fantasy scoring quarterbacks, as he was the seventh highest scoring fantasy quarterback in Week 5.
For all the talk regarding Locker’s dual threat ability, Fitzpatrick has been no slouch on the ground either, and this year he has run for 84 yards, and two rushing scores.
The rest of season schedule for Fitzpatrick and the Titans sees them face Indianapolis, Oakland, Indianapolis, Denver, Arizona, Jacksonville, and Houston in Week 17. With a schedule like that, you shouldn’t feel too uncomfortable picking up Fitzpatrick, either as a Locker replacement, or a QB2 streaming candidate in certain match-ups.
Josh McCown
We warned you last week not to drop Josh McCown in your 2-QB league just because Jay Cutler returned sooner than expected from his groin injury.
We weren’t trying to predict Cutler would re-injure himself, but rather to be cautious, and take a wait and see approach before outright dropping a fantasy quarterback who had proved himself worthy of starting consideration in 2-QB leagues.
A high ankle sprain, and not a re-aggravation of his groin injury, did Cutler in on Sunday, and it’s already been made official he won’t be playing this Sunday versus the Baltimore Ravens. Cutler is probable to miss more than just one week, making McCown fantasy relevant again.
In relief of Cutler on Sunday, McCown went 6-of-9 for 62 yards, and a passing score. Decent numbers for a short relief appearance, and while McCown wasn’t on the field for an extend period of time, his 6.48 standard fantasy points were good enough for QB26.
#TeamTrestman fans will look at McCown’s ability to run Marc Trestman’s offense more as a testament to Trestman’s offensive knowledge, rather than McCown’s talents, but that doesn’t matter much in fantasy football. What does matter is results, and in McCown’s one start as Bear this year, he was QB8, and in his two injury relief outings, he finished in the QB2 tier, or near it.
The Bears and Cutler take on a Ravens defense which was much improved after giving up 462 passing yards, and seven touchdowns to Peyton Manning in Week 1, as they gave up only four passing touchdowns combined in their next six games.
However, since their Week 8 bye, the Ravens have allowed Jason Campbell and Andy Dalton to throw for 250+ yards on them, and a combined five touchdowns. Campbell and Dalton also added at least 20 yards on the ground. As Jay Cutler, would say, smoke ’em if you got ’em, and if you got McCown in your 2-QB line-up, you might find yourself with a QB1 Week 11 quarterback.
Scott Tolzien
Heading into Sunday’s game versus the Philadelphia Eagles we were wondering who Scott Tolzien was. After Seneca Wallace suffered an in-game groin injury, the Packers were forced to find the answer to that very same question, as Tolzien had to come in and relieve Wallace.
The match-up might have been a softie against the Eagles, but Tolzien was able to complete 61.5 percent of his passes, for 280 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. He also added 19 rushing yards, and finished the week as QB15.
Those aren’t the worst numbers, but they’re also not the best, and Pro Football Focus focused on Tolzien’s dreadful decision making in their ReFocused Game Review, saying he was, “trying to force balls into areas where there was no space.” You don’t want to hear that about a starting quarterback in the NFL, but we have to remember that
Tolzien is an undrafted practice squad quarterback, and he will have his growing pains. And other than newly signed Matt Flynn, there are no other healthy quarterbacks on the active roster.
Even if you do end up picking up Tolzien in your 2-QB fantasy football league, you don’t have to start him, unless you’re extremely desperate.
Brock Osweiler
Mentioning Osweiler’s name is nothing more than a simple reminder that he’s Peyton Manning’s back-up, and if Manning’s injury is worse than the Broncos are letting on, Osweiler would be the quarterback the Kansas City Chiefs would have to prepare for this week.
If you’re a Manning owner in 2-QB leagues, and have a free bench spot, it doesn’t hurt to stash Osweiler. Even if Manning doesn’t miss any time this week, or in the next few weeks, you never know if the Broncos decide to rest Manning near the end of the season.
Matt McGloin
If Terrelle Pryor misses any game time, the Raiders would turn to rookie undrafted quarterback Matt McGloin, as they have no other active quarterbacks signed. Pryor’s sprained MCL doesn’t look serious enough to prevent him from playing though, so McGloin is just a name to keep on the 2-QB waiver wire speed dial. Fellow rookie fourth round draft pick and current Raiders practice squad member Tyler Wilson would also be worth monitoring.
Jason Campbell
This is just a reminder for those of you in 2-QB leagues where Jason Campbell finds himself still on the waiver wire league that the Cleveland Browns return from their Week 10 bye. In his two starts, Campbell has two Top-8 weekly standard league fantasy quarterback scoring finishes. Pick him up now before it’s too late.
Stats used in this article from FantasyData.com, and Yahoo! Fantasy Sports
