Fantasy Football: Wes Welker and 4 Former Stars You Can Cut from Your Roster

Fantasy football is a cold and calculated game. The stars of yesterday won't receive any sentimental one-day contracts to relive their former glory.

Then there is that awkward situation when one of them is currently clogging your roster and you come to grips with reality. It's time for him to go.

To be clear, you should try and pass off one of these fellows as a legitimate trade chip to get whatever you can in return. Just don't become soft if the rest of your league isn't as dumb as you had hoped. 

Remember, if they're not going to start for you, what's the point of keeping a player on the roster? That could be the difference in finding the next breakout star.

There's a Reason Wes Welker Didn't Get That Big Contract

Maybe the New England Patriots knew what they were doing by bogarting a long-term contract from Wes Welker.

The Pats' offense has always followed the simple edict of exploiting its best advantages. Unfortunately for Welker owners, that isn't the diminutive slot receiver anymore. 

Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez are personally responsible for the impending Tums shortage. Their size, speed and power create impossible matchups for defensive coordinators to counter.

Additionally, New England now has a legitimate deep threat in Brandon Lloyd. He has already stolen some of the famed Tom Brady-Welker chemistry by receiving eight targets in the season opener. 

The Pats don't lack for a possible Welker-ish replacement in Julian Edelman. He's just reaching his prime while Welker is certainly on the downslope of his career. 

Michael Vick's Risk Is No Longer Worth the Reward

The Philadelphia Eagles have all the pieces needed for a Super Bowl run, with the rather notable exception of one: a quarterback.

Michael Vick's myth and promise have run out of time to blossom. There always seemed to be reasons to believe that he finally understood what it takes to be a great signal-caller in the NFL, but those reasons are now few and far between.

This isn't a reaction to his four-interception season opener, although that certainly doesn't help. His completion percentage took a three-point dip last year (62.6-59.8) along with a crashing-back-to-reality touchdown-to-interception ratio of 18-to-14.

At 32 years of age, he can't risk running the ball in the same manner he did in his younger days. He hasn't played a full slate of games since 2006 and there's nothing to indicate he's suddenly going to be capable of it now.

Between the falling production and inherent injury risk, it's time to cut ties with Michael Vick. 

There Was No Reason to Draft Carson Palmer in the First Place

Despite multiple warnings, some people went ahead and drafted Carson Palmer. How are you feeling about that now?

People will point out that he had 239 yards and a touchdown at the half of the Oakland Raiders' game against the Miami Dolphins. They just happen to be neglecting the fact that 64 of those yards and the score were the result of Mike Goodson taking a screen pass and making something happen.

Palmer just isn't the quarterback he was three years ago. He's only a check-down specialist at this point. Your fantasy team deserves a quarterback who's willing to throw the ball more than 15 yards every now and then.

Has Anyone Seen DeAngelo Williams?

The Carolina Panthers might run the ball well at some point this year. They just won't be doing it with DeAngelo Williams leading the way.

Their Week 1 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers revealed that Jonathan Stewart might be the piston that drives their offensive engine. Without him, the timing was screwed up and Williams couldn't even come up with one yard of production. 

Williams will still get a few carries, but he'll never be the top dog. In a crowded backfield that also includes touchdown-vulture extraordinaire Mike Tolbert, Williams' fantasy value is falling to an unacceptable level. 

Peyton Hillis Should Be Put out to Pasture

I understand.

You drafted Peyton Hillis thinking he would steal touchdowns from Jamaal Charles and show some new life now that he's joined the Kansas City Chiefs.

Much like the team's supposed resurgence, there seems to be a lot of smoke but no fire. 

Hillis has looked much like last year's model, instead of the punishing runner of 2010. He averaged a paltry 2.3 yards per carry in his Kansas City debut, and hasn't done much since to justify his roster spot. 

Cut him loose.