Roster management is the single most crucial in-season task for fantasy football managers. Knowing which players to let go is as important as adding the right guys. Which players find themselves on our Week 5 fantasy football cut list?
Quarterbacks: Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals
Rostered: 70%
This one is a carryover from last week. Typically, I will include players for multiple weeks until their roster percentage declines enough. That has yet to happen with Joe Burrow, as fantasy managers may be holding on to hope that he can return late in the season. There are two reasons not to do that.
First, we’re talking about a three-month recovery timeline in the best-case scenario. Burrow might be able to return in Week 15 or 16. That’s the fantasy playoffs. Presumably, if you’re still playing, you made it with someone else at quarterback. Are you really about to throw an ice-cold Burrow into your lineup when it matters most?
Second, there is exactly a 0% chance Burrow returns this season unless the Cincinnati Bengals are still in the playoff hunt. Forgive me for being highly skeptical that this team, led by Jake Browning, won’t be mathematically eliminated multiple weeks before Burrow might be able to play.
Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars
Rostered: 42%
The Jacksonville Jaguars are 3-1. Yet, it’s increasingly clear that Trevor Lawrence should not be a starting quarterback in the NFL. He certainly shouldn’t be one in fantasy.
Lawrence has now topped 12 fantasy points once in his first four games, and it came against the hapless Cincinnati Bengals in the game Burrow got hurt. Against the San Francisco 49ers, the Jaguars scored 26 points. Lawrence threw for 174 yards and one touchdown.
The Jaguars legitimately do not have a single bottom-10 defense on the schedule for the rest of the season, at least based on current data. He is barely even a desperation streamer.
Running Backs: James Conner, Arizona Cardinals
Rostered: 43%
A most unfortunate end for one of the NFL’s true good guys. James Conner is a player I didn’t embrace until very late in his career. He was always so much better than I gave him credit for. He was also somewhat unfairly labeled injury-prone.
Well, Conner proved the haters correct with what is very obviously a freak injury. Conner’s leg got trapped under him on a tackle, and he destroyed his ankle. It took mere hours for Adam Schefter to report that Conner was set to undergo surgery and his season is over.
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It will likely take a couple of weeks before Conner’s roster percentage dips low enough to be removed from the cut list. For the worst reason possible, though, he needs to be let go.
Brian Robinson Jr., San Francisco 49ers
Rostered: 50%
Brian Robinson Jr. remains one of the highest upside handcuffs in the league. But he is just that, a handcuff.
Through four weeks, the former Washington Commander has a total of 11.9 fantasy points. He takes a couple of carries each week when Christian McCaffrey needs a break. That is the extent of his role.
Robinson is one of those players who both belong on rosters because he is one injury away from being an every-week starter, but can also be dropped if you need the roster spot, as he has no standalone value. The choice is yours.
Kaleb Johnson, Pittsburgh Steelers
Rostered: 43%
The fallout from Jaylen Warren’s surprising Sunday morning scratch was actually a positive for the rookie. Kaleb Johnson found himself in the doghouse after seemingly not knowing the rules of football and muffing a kickoff against the Seattle Seahawks, which directly led to a touchdown for the opposing team. There was no guarantee he’d even see the field last week.
Fortunately, it does not appear that Trey Sermon jumped Johnson on the depth chart. Kenneth Gainwell served as the clear lead back, but Johnson was the RB2. There is hope for him yet.
At the same time, he only touched the ball six times, rushing for an inefficient 22 yards. Johnson also dropped his lone target.
With the Pittsburgh Steelers on bye, odds are favorable that Warren will be back for Week 6. That makes Johnson two injuries away from fantasy relevance. He does not need to be rostered.
Dylan Sampson, Cleveland Browns
Rostered: 36%
With each passing week, Quinshon Judkins’ grip on the Cleveland Browns’ RB1 job gets stronger. He’s not dominating snaps, but he is dominating touches, earning 25 opportunities compared to a combined five from the Browns’ other two backs.
Dylan Sampson may be the best receiving back on this team, but he’s still behind Jerome Ford due to pass blocking. If Judkins were to go down, it remains probable that Sampson would be the preferred fantasy option. Right now, though, he’s barely playing and barely touching the ball. You don’t have to hold him.
Tank Bigsby, Philadelphia Eagles
Rostered: 50%
Another carryover from last week, Tank Bigsby’s trade to the Philadelphia Eagles erased all of his fantasy value. There is no speculative hold here. Bigsby went from part of a three-man rotation in Jacksonville to purely a special teamer in Philly.
Bigsby has yet to play an offensive snap as an Eagle, and there is no realistic path to playing time. He is behind AJ Dillon, Will Shipley, and Saquon Barkley. That player does not need to be on the roster.
Wide Receivers: Malik Nabers, New York Giants
Rostered: 100%
The most unfortunate news of the weekend was the end of Malik Nabers’ season. The uber-talented New York Giants wide receiver tore his ACL on Sunday, putting a damper on what was otherwise a really positive afternoon with the team securing its first win of the season in Jaxson Dart’s debut.
Nabers should be able to make it back on the field by the start of next season. For now, though, fantasy managers are left trying to fill an impossibly large hole.
Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins
Rostered: 100%
Another incredibly unfortunate name to be added to this list. If you haven’t yet seen Tyreek Hill’s knee injury, don’t. It reminded me of what happened to Notre Dame linebacker Jaylon Smith at the Fiesta Bowl, except Hill wasn’t contacted; he just planted wrong on the grass.
We may or may not have confirmation of the exact nature of the injury by the time you read this. Either way, there is zero doubt that Hill’s season is over. For the worst reason possible, fantasy managers can send him to the waiver wire.
Josh Downs, Indianapolis Colts
Rostered: 52%
There doesn’t seem to be a path for Josh Downs ever to be a weekly fantasy starter. He’s definitely a talented player. However, his team does not see him as someone worthy of being on the field all the time.
Downs continues to play almost exclusively in 11-personnel. Even with Alec Pierce out, Downs saw no change in his usage. Adonai Mitchell stepped seamlessly into Pierce’s role.
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Downs has now seen exactly three targets in half his games played and five in one other. That type of volume is never going to cut it.
The schedule is about to open up for the Indianapolis Colts, but that doesn’t matter for a player who isn’t running enough routes. Downs got a ton of hype over the Summer and was even being drafted ahead of Michael Pittman Jr. Clearly, that was a mistake. He has no fantasy value and can be dropped.
Tre Tucker, Las Vegas Raiders
Rostered: 60%
That was fun while it lasted, right? Back to reality for Tre Tucker after his ridiculous 40-point explosion in Week 3.
The Las Vegas Raiders WR still served as the No. 2 option behind Jakobi Meyers. He ran the same number of routes. He just happened to earn only two targets.
This is the reality of who Tucker is. He’s never going to be a weekly starter. The ceiling games are still possible, and Tucker will likely pop off for another big game or two later this season (although never quite like Week 3). But he is not a must-roster player.
Tight Ends: David Njoku, Cleveland Browns
Rostered: 86%
Last year’s overall TE4, David Njoku, appeared to be undervalued, given his double-digit round ADP in 2025 fantasy drafts. It turns out, he wasn’t going late enough.
Perhaps it is Harold Fannin Jr. causing Njoku problems. The rookie essentially matched the veteran in snaps and routes run last week. Either way, Njoku has now failed to reach double-digit fantasy points in every game this season. Against the Detroit Lions, he saw a mere three targets, catching two for 11 yards.
The Cleveland Browns will be underdogs for almost every single game. In theory, that should lead to more passing. However, without a quarterback capable of sustaining drives, it won’t help Njoku.
I would stop short of calling Njoku a must-drop. Instead, his name is on the cut list because he is someone fantasy managers should not feel beholden to based on his predraft value.
Colston Loveland, Chicago Bears
Rostered: 30%
It’s always risky to give up talented rookies, especially first-rounders. However, it’s becoming increasingly complex to make a case for holding onto Colston Loveland.
The Chicago Bears’ first-round tight end has been unable to vanquish Cole Kmet, raising immediate concerns about his fantasy viability in the short term. He caught two passes for 12 yards in Week 1 and then went catchless in Week 2.
It’s impossible to know how Week 3 would have gone had he not suffered a hip injury shortly after his 31-yard reception. But it happened. Loveland played a mere six snaps before departing. Then, he missed Week 4.
Between the injury, the rise of Rome Odunze, the presence of Kmet, and the flashes being shown by Luther Burden III, it’s hard to see a path for Loveland anytime soon. If you cannot afford to burn the roster spot, by all means, send him to the waiver wire.
Evan Engram, Denver Broncos
Rostered: 56%
Evan Engram returned to the Denver Broncos’ lineup after a one-game absence due to a back injury. The veteran tight end did catch a season high four passes for 29 yards, but the bulk of them came on a checkdown on third and long that was never going anywhere.
Engram did run a season-high 27 routes, which is somewhat encouraging. However, he only played 40% of the snaps. That’s too low a snap share for any semblance of fantasy value.
There is no “Joker” role for Engram. He is not this offensive weapon. He is certainly not the second option in the passing game behind Courtland Sutton. There are easily 20+ tight ends better than Engram. Rid your rosters of this player.
