When you open your Fantasy roster on whatever site you play on — it better be CBS — you might only see red. We’re dealing with a lot of injuries to many prominent players. And it stinks.
Here is the 2024 all-injury team heading into Week 3, and I’m hopeful Justin Jefferson (quad) and Amon-Ra St. Brown (leg) are going to be OK.
QB: Jordan Love (knee)
RB: Christian McCaffrey (calf)
RB: Isiah Pacheco (leg)
WR: Puka Nacua (knee)
WR: A.J. Brown (hamstring)
WR: Deebo Samuel (calf)
TE: Jake Ferguson (knee)
FLEX: Cooper Kupp (ankle)
SUPERFLEX: Tua Tagovailoa (concussion)
Bench: Joe Mixon (ankle), Kenneth Walker III (oblique), Raheem Mostert (chest), Tee Higgins (hamstring), David Njoku (ankle), Keenan Allen (heel), Jordan Addison (ankle) and Taysom Hill (chest)
So, yeah. That’s fun seeing that list. And, unfortunately, many of you have several of those players on the same Fantasy roster. Just don’t give up hope — yet.
You’re probably going to be active on the Waiver Wire this week, but there aren’t a lot of guaranteed options. It might be more band-aids than anything else, but there are players who could be useful.
Derek Carr is looking like a No. 1 Fantasy quarterback, and hopefully, Hunter Henry can emerge as a starting Fantasy tight end. We have some replacement running backs in Carson Steele (or Samaje Perine) and Cam Akers (or Dameon Pierce), and there are receivers who could be productive in Darnell Mooney, Quentin Johnston, and Jauan Jennings, among others.
We’re going to suggest a lot of players to pick up this week, and you might need to start several of these guys. You could also start to stash some players for when the bye weeks are coming, which is as early as Week 5.
Let’s just hope for no more injuries to prominent players. It’s not fun when the stars can’t play.
Editor’s note: For this waiver wire column, we are mainly looking at players rostered in less than 65 percent of CBS Sports leagues.
Week 3 Waivers
Injuries: Jordan Love (knee), Tua Tagovailoa (concussion), Justin Herbert (leg) and Russell Wilson (calf).
Check to see if available in shallow leagues: Aaron Rodgers (72 percent rostered) and Kirk Cousins (72 percent). Rodgers looked better in Week 2 at Tennessee (19.1 Fantasy points) than he did in Week 1 at San Francisco (10.6), and hopefully, he’s getting comfortable in his comeback from last year’s Achilles injury. I don’t love his matchup in Week 3 against New England, but this is his first home game in 2024. … Cousins also played better in Week 2 at Philadelphia (21.5 Fantasy points) than he did in Week 1 vs. Pittsburgh (8.2), and he’s also likely feeling better in his Achilles comeback. He doesn’t have an easy matchup in Week 3 against Kansas City, but he’s trending in the right direction.
Drop candidates: Tua Tagovailoa (96 percent rostered), Justin Herbert (87 percent), and Matthew Stafford (85 percent). We don’t know when Tagovailoa will return from his concussion, but stash him on IR if the Dolphins decide to place him there until they make a decision on his future. … Herbert will hopefully be OK with his leg injury, but he’s not looking like a starting Fantasy quarterback any time soon after scoring a combined 27.4 points in two games against the Raiders and Panthers. And he plays at Pittsburgh in Week 3. … Stafford is playing behind a banged-up offensive line without Puka Nacua (knee) and Cooper Kupp (ankle). There’s no reason to start him in one-quarterback leagues, especially against the 49ers in Week 3.
Add in this order:
Week 3 Waiver Priority List
WAIVER WIRE
Running Backs
Injuries: Christian McCaffrey (calf), Kenneth Walker III (abdomen), Raheem Mostert (chest), Joe Mixon (ankle), Rachaad White (groin), Isiah Pacheco (leg), Tyjae Spears (ankle), Tank Bigsby (shoulder), Jeff Wilson (oblique) and MarShawn Lloyd (ankle).
Check to see if available in shallow leagues: Rico Dowdle (82 percent rostered), Trey Benson (81 percent), Bucky Irving (75 percent), Chuba Hubbard (70 percent), and Jaleel McLaughlin (69 percent). Hubbard was someone I said to drop last week, but with Andy Dalton now the starter in Carolina, I would keep or add Hubbard where available. He also looked better in Week 2 against the Chargers with 11.6 PPR points, and hopefully, this Panthers offense will look like an NFL team with improved quarterback play. … Irving should be 100 percent added with White hurt, although White is expected to play in Week 3.
Through two games, Irving has done well with 16 carries for 84 yards and two catches for 14 yards on three targets, and he could be a solid Fantasy option if he ever started for Tampa Bay. … I’m hopeful Dowdle starts to take over the backfield in Dallas, and he played more snaps than Ezekiel Elliott (30-28) in Week 2 against the Saints. There’s more upside with Dowdle, and he’s worth stashing on your roster if available. … Benson is a lottery ticket in case something happens to James Conner, and I’d like to stash him on the bench where available. … Even though the Broncos offense looks awful through two games, I still want to stash McLaughlin in case something were to happen to Javonte Williams. McLaughlin is an explosive running back, and giving him more touches would make sense to help this stagnant offense.
Drop candidates: Jeff Wilson (50 percent rostered), MarShawn Lloyd (47 percent), and Tyrone Tracy Jr. (31 percent). Wilson is hurt, and Mostert might be able to return in Week 3 at Seattle. Jaylen Wright might also have done enough to move ahead of Wilson on Miami’s depth chart. … Lloyd is hurt again, and he might be third on the Packers depth chart behind Josh Jacobs and Emanuel Wilson. … Tracy will need a Devin Singletary injury to have Fantasy relevance, and I’m not sure the Giants backup running back is worth rostering in most leagues. Tracy is only worth stashing in deeper formats.
Add in this order:
Week 3 Waiver Priority List
WAIVER WIRE
Wide Receivers
Injuries: Puka Nacua (knee), Cooper Kupp (ankle), Tee Higgins (hamstring), Deebo Samuel (calf), A.J. Brown (hamstring), Amon-Ra St. Brown (leg), Justin Jefferson (quad), Keenan Allen (heel), Jordan Addison (ankle) and Josh Downs (ankle)
Check to see if available in shallow leagues: Khalil Shakir (84 percent rostered), Brandin Cooks (81 percent), Diontae Johnson (80 percent), Jaxon Smith-Njigba (77 percent), Jordan Addison (75 percent), Rashid Shaheed (73 percent), Rome Odunze (72 percent), Jerry Jeudy (67 percent), Demarcus Robinson (66 percent) and Tyler Lockett (65 percent). This is a fun list, and I’ll rank them in order with Johnson, Shaheed, Smith-Njigba, Robinson, Shakir, Jeudy, Cooks, Addison, Odunze and Lockett. The reason Johnson is first is because I’m hopeful that Andy Dalton will jumpstart the Panthers offense and make Johnson a big priority in the passing game. … Through two games, Shaheed has seven catches for 169 yards and two touchdowns on nine targets, and he’s living up to his billing as a sleeper in this new New Orleans offense. … Smith-Njigba was awesome in Week 2 at New England with 12 catches for 117 yards on 16 targets, and hopefully that’s a sign of things to come. Lockett had a productive Week 1 with six catches for 77 yards on seven targets against Denver, but he was held to two catches for 15 yards on two targets in Week 2 at New England.
Still, he’ll have some positive weeks moving forward, so continue to stash him. … Robinson should be considered the No. 1 Rams receiver with Nacua and Kupp out, and I’m hopeful Robinson becomes a go-to target for Matthew Stafford. … Shakir is averaging just shy of 12 PPR points per game in the first two weeks of the season, and he looks like the best Buffalo wide receiver for now. … Jeudy has gotten off to a good start with the Browns with eight catches for 98 yards and a touchdown on 14 targets, and he has a great matchup in Week 3 against the Giants. … Cooks was bad in Week 2 against New Orleans (3.6 PPR points), but he excelled in Week 1 at Cleveland (14.5 PPR points). Let’s see what he does in Week 3 against Baltimore, but I would still add Cooks where he’s available. … Addison will hopefully return in Week 3 against Houston after sitting out in Week 2. With the way Sam Darnold has played, Addison could be a No. 3 Fantasy receiver moving forward. And Jefferson could be hurt, which would only enhance Addison’s value moving forward. … Odunze could benefit this week with an easy matchup against the Colts, and Allen could still be out for the Bears.
Drop candidates: DeAndre Hopkins (83 percent rostered), Josh Palmer (66 percent), Marquise Brown (55 percent), and Curtis Samuel (43 percent). Hopkins has three targets in two games for two catches and 17 yards. His knee injury from training camp is hopefully the problem, but you can’t rely on Hopkins in any leagues right now. … Through two games, Palmer has four catches for 34 yards and no touchdowns on six targets. The Chargers receiver to roster moving forward is Quentin Johnston behind Ladd McConkey. … Brown could miss the entire regular season after undergoing shoulder surgery last week. He’s not worth carrying on IR in redraft leagues. … Samuel has three catches for 18 yards on four targets in two games. Until he starts to be more involved with the Bills, there’s no reason to roster him in the majority of leagues.
Add in this order:
Week 3 Waiver Priority List
Injuries: Evan Engram (hamstring), Taysom Hill (chest), David Njoku (ankle) and Jake Ferguson (knee).
Check to see if available in shallow leagues: David Njoku (84 percent rostered), Jake Ferguson (82 percent), and T.J. Hockenson (68 percent). Ferguson is hopeful to play in Week 3 against Baltimore after sitting out Week 2 with a knee injury, and Ferguson would be considered a top-10 Fantasy tight end in all leagues against the Ravens, who couldn’t stop Brock Bowers last week at home. … Njoku is also hopeful to play in Week 3 against the Giants after sitting out in Week 2, and he would be a borderline starter in all leagues if healthy in a great matchup. … Hockenson (knee) could make his 2024 debut in Week 7 based on reports, but now might be time to consider stashing him if you have an open roster spot. Hopefully, he can be a top-10 Fantasy tight end when healthy.
Drop candidates: Dalton Schultz (72 percent rostered), Juwan Johnson (30 percent), and Luke Musgrave (29 percent). Like we said last week, it will be tough to trust Schultz when everyone is healthy for the Texans. In two games, he has five catches for 41 yards and no touchdowns on six targets. … I’m still hopeful Johnson will make an impact this season, but he had no targets in Week 2 at Dallas and has just two catches for 26 yards and a touchdown on three targets in two games. … Musgrave is playing behind Tucker Kraft and has just one catch for 6 yards on three targets in two games.
Add in this order:
Add in this order:
Week 3 Waiver Priority List
DST streamers
Seahawks (50 percent rostered) vs. MIA
Buccaneers (28 percent rostered) vs. DEN
Bears (51 percent rostered) at IND
Raiders (14 percent rostered) vs. CAR
Packers (18 percent rostered) at TEN
Kicker streamers
Evan McPherson (63 percent rostered) vs. WAS
Blake Grupe (49 percent rostered) vs. PHI
Dustin Hopkins (16 percent rostered) vs. NYG
Matt Prater (28 percent rostered) vs. DET
Daniel Carlson (13 percent rostered) vs. CAR
