Jimmy Clausen's Updated 2014 Fantasy Value After Jay Cutler Reportedly Benched

Unless you're in full tank mode and playing for the No. 1 pick in your 2015 fantasy football draft, you shouldn't be starting Jimmy Clausen in Week 16. 

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Chicago Bears aren't following the same advice:

If this were, say, Week 10, then Clausen might warrant a flier in deeper leagues. He was atrocious during his last stint as a starter, completing 52.5 percent of his throws for three touchdowns and nine interceptions, but as radio host Benjamin Allbright pointed out, that was a long time ago:

Marc Trestman has a system that favors quarterbacks—look how Josh McCown thrived last season—and offensive weapons like Alshon Jeffery and Matt Forte who have the talent to make Clausen look serviceable. 

In this particular offense, Clausen offers very, very slight upside. 

But that doesn't matter in Week 16.

It's championship week in most leagues and there is essentially no reason for building depth on your bench anymore. Unless you're in a two-quarterback league, had Jay Cutler with no backup and there's next to nothing available on the waiver wire, there's no justification for starting Clausen.

He has been terrible the only times we've seen him on a professional football field, and more importantly, the matchup is brutal. The Detroit Lions boast Football Outsiders' No. 2 overall defense and No. 3 pass defense. 

As the Daily Herald's Bob LeGere joked, the daunting matchup may just make Clausen want to stay on the bench for another week:

At the end of the day, you're likely looking at something like 175 yards, one touchdown and a couple of turnovers. 

If you're still alive this late in the season, chances are those kind of numbers won't help you in the slightest.