Top Fantasy Football QB Streaming Options for Week 9 After Injuries, Starter Changes
Week 9 is going to be a tough one for many fantasy football managers. Not only are four teams loaded with regular fantasy starters—the Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars and San Francisco 49ers—all on a bye, but a rash of injuries and roster shifts have also struck the quarterback position particularly hard.
Managers who had been relying on Kirk Cousins, Matthew Stafford, Justin Fields, Deshaun Watson, Kenny Pickett, Desmond Ridder or Jimmy Garoppolo could all be joining those with Russell Wilson, Jared Goff, Trevor Lawrence and Brock Purdy on a waiver-wire hunt for a replacement for the upcoming week and potentially beyond.
Cousins joined a growing list of signal-callers to go down for the year after he suffered an Achilles tear in Week 8. Stafford, Fields, Watson and Pickett are all day-to-day or week-to-week with various ailments and may be sidelined for their upcoming contests. Ridder was benched for poor performance last week and could remain on the pine, while the next domino to fall in the Las Vegas Raiders' surprising mid-season regime change could be Jimmy Garoppolo after a slew of poor starts.
With that in mind, here are some of the best quarterback streaming options for desperate managers in Week 9.
Tyson Bagent, Chicago Bears
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One of the more intriguing storylines of the 2023 season is how former Division II quarterback Tyson Bagent is emerging as a capable NFL talent for the Chicago Bears. Bagent has seen significant action in three games—two starts—over the past three weeks while Justin Fields has been sidelined with a thumb injury. While he hasn't led the Bears to a winning record, he's proven he belongs in the league and could even be a competent fantasy option for managers starved for production at his position.
Bagent, an undrafted rookie out of Shepherd, seems to have the green light to throw in Chicago's offense. He's seen an uptick in passing volume across each of his past three appearances, culminating in a 37-pass performance against the Los Angeles Chargers this past Sunday night. He's been surprisingly accurate thus far, connecting on 70 percent of his attempts on the season, although he does have just a single touchdown against three interceptions on his stat line.
While Bagent doesn't have the same rushing upside as Fields, he has managed to punch in two touchdowns on the ground this season and did pick up 24 yards on his three totes in Week 7. That has helped make him a somewhat viable fantasy option in deep leagues, as he's finished No. 22 and No. 20 in fantasy points scored at the quarterback position in his past two outings.
The team announced that Fields will remain sidelined for at least one more week, making Bagent an intriguing spot-starter in fantasy yet again. The Saints defense has had a hard time generating sacks—just 15 on the year, tied for the second-fewest in the NFL—and a lack of pressure could be what Bagent needs to have his best performance yet.
While you shouldn't start him over any of the proven options out there, many managers won't have the luxury of plucking a sure-thing off the waiver wire this week. Bagent is a quality choice compared to most free agents because of his decent passing volume-based floor and ability to punch in short-yardage scores with his legs.
Aidan O'Connell, Las Vegas Raiders
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The Las Vegas Raiders made the bold move to fire head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler following a 3-5 start to the campaign. With interim head coach Antonio Pierce taking over, the team's flailing offense could look vastly different during its Week 9 meeting with the New York Giants. According to Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, backup quarterback Aidan O'Connell is likely to start in place of an ineffective Jimmy Garoppolo.
If he gets the nod, O'Connell would be making his second start of 2023. The fourth-round rookie earned his first opportunity in Week 4 when he replaced an injured Garoppolo for a clash with the Los Angeles Chargers. The Raiders failed to find a spark under his stewardship, losing 24-17 in a game in which O'Connell completed 24-of-39 passing attempts for 238 yards. Ball security was an issue in that divisional bout, as O'Connell was picked once and lost a pair of fumbles.
The Purdue product looked better when he was substituted in for an ineffective Bryan Hoyer in Week 7. While it was late in a blowout loss to the Chicago Bears, O'Connell did hit home on 10 of his 13 throws for 75 yards—one of the incomplete passes was intercepted—and connected on the only touchdown pass of the day for the Raiders.
Allowing O'Connell to sling it at will should help Vegas—which isn't out of the playoff hunt despite back-to-back losses—shake things up and light a fire under a slumping offense. The 25-year-old has a big arm and can unlock a passing attack that stagnated with Garoppolo under center. He has plenty of weapons surrounding him, including one of the top wideouts in football in Davante Adams and an up-and-coming talent in Jakobi Meyers. Those receivers had just one catch apiece last week but could see a huge uptick in targets—especially on deep routes—with O'Connell on the field.
Managers shouldn't be afraid to deploy O'Connell if they need a signal-caller who could help them win a seemingly impossible fantasy matchup. There's a chance he submarines his point total with a plethora of turnovers, but he has a higher ceiling than the other widely available free-agent options.
Jaren Hall, Minnesota Vikings
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The Minnesota Vikings are scrambling to find a serviceable quarterback in wake of Kirk Cousins' season-ending injury. The team swung a deadline-day trade for Joshua Dobbs but will give incumbent backup Jaren Hall the first crack at assuming QB1 duties for the remainder of the campaign.
Hall—a fifth-round rookie out of BYU—saw his first NFL action when he replaced Cousins last week. Unfortunately, he didn't get enough volume for fantasy managers to get a real feel for what he'll bring to the table in his first career start. The 25-year-old did complete three of his four passing attempts for 23 yards and avoided being intercepted, but he did cough up a fumble on a strip-sack.
Head coach Kevin O'Connell is confident Hall can handle the pressure and succeed against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. According to Ellis Williams of the team's official website, O'Connell said: "I think he's physically capable, I think he's mentally capable, and I think he's made up of the right stuff. I love the way he's attacked whatever role he's been in throughout the season."
Hall did thrive during his collegiate career, racking up 53 touchdowns against a mere 11 interceptions. He's a dual-threat weapon who accounted for 798 yards and nine scores on the ground and should be able to translate that skill to the next level. His rushing capabilities give him an added boost in fantasy, especially in a Week 9 matchup against a team that has been tough to throw on in 2023. Atlanta allows just 194.6 yards per game through the air, the eighth fewest in the league.
Managers willing to roll the dice on a low-floor, high-ceiling rookie should give Hall some serious consideration. He's certainly more of a risk than some of the other free-agent options at quarterback this week, but he also has undeniable upside and could become one of the hottest waiver-wire pickups if he has a big outing against the Falcons.
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Taylor Heinicke, Atlanta Falcons
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The Atlanta Falcons have a quarterback controversy on their hands. Desmond Ridder didn't return following an unsightly first half against the Tennessee Titans, and while head coach Arthur Smith maintains that he wasn't benched because of performance woes and was instead being evaluated for a concussion, Taylor Heinicke replaced the starter and sparked a second-half run.
Under Heinicke's command, the Falcons were able to put 20 points on the board after they managed just a single field goal in the first 30 minutes of play.
Smith now has a tough decision to make regarding the team's QB1 job not only for a Week 9 battle against the Minnesota Vikings, but also the remainder of the campaign. Atlanta is sitting at 4-4—tied with the New Orleans Saints atop the NFC South standings—and has a real chance of snapping a half-decade playoff drought. Ridder hadn't thrown a scoring pass since Week 5 and has as many picks (six) as he does touchdowns on the year.
Heinicke not only threw a touchdown in his first appearance of 2023 against a Titans defense that had bottled up Ridder, but he also only took one sack after the starter was brought down five times.
With Ridder struggling to hold onto the ball—he lost four fumbles over his last six quarters of play—the Falcons need a steady hand like Heinicke's to simply manage the game. The team features a boatload of talented skill-position options, including recent high first-round picks in Kyle Pitts, Drake London and Bijan Robinson, who have been underperforming with Ridder under center. Their talent seemed to be unlocked with Heinicke running the show, evidenced by the 20 points the offense scored in a single half being more than Atlanta had mustered in four of the previous five weeks.
While Heinicke may not offer much upside at the age of 30, he seems to be the right man for the job on this surprise contender. If Smith realizes this and names Heinicke the starter going forward, he'll be a viable QB2 in fantasy with upside to eventually become a QB1. It may take him some time to build rapport with his pass-catchers, but Heinicke will be deployable for managers in need of immediate help as early as Week 9 should he assume the starting mantle in Atlanta.
Brett Rypien, Los Angeles Rams
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The Los Angeles Rams will be fighting an uphill battle against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 9, especially if star quarterback Matthew Stafford isn't available. The veteran was injured against the Pittsburgh Steelers last week, suffering a UCL sprain in his thumb while diving for a touchdown catch on a trick two-point conversion. Stafford is officially day-to-day leading up to a pivotal matchup against an NFC West rival and could be replaced by backup Brett Rypien.
If Rypien does get the nod, it will be his first start since signing with the Rams this offseason. The 27-year-old spent his first three NFL seasons with the Denver Broncos, making three starts in that span. The most recent came in Week 15 of the 2022 campaign, a game that Rypien fared well in. While replacing Russell Wilson, the backup completed 21-of-26 passing attempts for 197 yards and a touchdown.
Turnovers have been a problem for Rypien during his sporadic professional appearances. He both coughed up a fumble and was intercepted in that aforementioned start, finishing 2022 with four interceptions and two touchdowns in four contests in which he saw the field. Rypien also had two touchdown passes and four picks in three appearances as a rookie. He only attempted two passes during his sophomore season, missing on both attempts.
While Rypien didn't have any turnovers after he came on for Stafford last week, he only connected on five of his 10 passing attempts. The offense stalled out with him under center, failing to put a single score on the board while blowing a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter. It's a concerning sign for fantasy managers considering giving Rypien a go in Week 9.
Only desperate managers in deep leagues should deploy Rypien against the Seahawks. Although he may have some of the top pass-catchers in the league at his disposal—notably Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua—he failed to unlock their talent last week and has a concerning trend of turnovers and poor play on his resume.
Factor in that Seattle's pass rush—already one of the league's best with 26 sacks on the campaign—just added Leonard Williams at the trade deadline, and it's hard to see a path to much fantasy success for Rypien.
P.J. Walker, Cleveland Browns
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The Cleveland Browns would like a mulligan on their trade and subsequent record-setting extension for Deshaun Watson. The quarterback has been struggling with inconsistency and injury since returning to the lineup, missing three games already this season and likely to sit another in Week 9 because of a shoulder ailment according to Cleveland.com's Terry Pluto. That should result in another start for backup P.J. Walker, who has some upside against a beatable Arizona Cardinals defense.
While Walker has helped his side go 2-1 in the three games he's seen a significant amount of action in, he hasn't been a viable fantasy starter. He's completed less than 50 percent of his throws for 618 yards and one touchdown against five interceptions.
Although those are poor numbers no matter how you look at it, Walker is coming off his best showing of the year. The 28-year-old was able to keep things close against a tough Seahawks team, throwing for 248 yards and a score. He also added some value with his legs, picking up 27 yards on six totes.
Arizona offers a good chance for Walker to post his best fantasy day yet. The team concedes 26.6 points per game and just allowed 31 to the Baltimore Ravens last week. While Walker isn't really in the QB1 discussion, he should be a decent streaming option for those facing the stark reality of a barren free-agent pool at the quarterback position.
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