Fantasy Football Week 17: Wednesday's Daily Fantasy Market Report

With Week 17 of the fantasy football season on the horizon, it's time to start looking at who will and will not play and how that impacts our DFS lineup construction.

A good place to start would be looking at my colleague Matt Camp's "motivation chart," where he details what each prospective playoff team is playing for.

There will be plenty of crazy moves before we head into the playoffs, so make sure you play close attention.

One big tip I'd lend is watching for which backup quarterbacks will play and targeting wide receivers that have likely participated in plenty of reps in practice with them.

A few of these crazy moves came on Tuesday—just the tip of the iceberg.

Let's check 'em out.

Steelers Likely to Sit Killer B's

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No surprise here.

According to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin hinted at sitting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, wide receiver Antonio Brown and running back Le'Veon Bell in Week 17 against the Cleveland Browns.

"They are guys I'll look hard at protecting and preserving," said Tomlin.

In their place, Landry Jones will start at quarterback, DeAngelo Williams at running back, and expect more snaps for players like Cobi Hamilton at wide receiver.

Going up against the Browns, I'm looking at Williams for sure—we've seen what he can do with Bell out—plus he's got a fantastic matchup.

Jones has a shot to look competent here, but let's be real: He's terrible.

However, the idea of starting a Steelers wide receiver who has likely seen a lot of practice time with Jones is intriguing. We've seen similar trends in the past, with the most notable being New York Jets quarterback Bryce Petty and wide receiver Robby Anderson.

A flier on Hamilton or maybe even fellow wide receiver Demarcus Ayers isn't a crazy idea. I'd give it a shot.

Bills Benching QB Tyrod Taylor in Week 17

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According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Buffalo Bills (in wake of firing head coach Rex Ryan) have decided to sit quarterback Tyrod Taylor for the season finale against the New York Jets. In his place, fellow quarterback E.J. Manuel will draw the start.

Two things here: One, the Bills are done with Taylor, and two, this is strictly a business decision. If Taylor were to get hurt, the Bills would owe him over $30M.

With Manuel starting against the Jets and their terrible defense, I'm on board with starting him in cash games, but in GPPs, I'm staying away.

Sure, the Jets are bad, but Manuel just isn't any good, thus limiting his upside for GPPs.

Jets to Start QB Ryan Fitzpatrick

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Ugh.

According to Kimberley A. Martin of of Newsday Sports, the New York Jets will start Ryan Fitzpatrick at quarterback in Week 17.

At this point, it's fair to say that Fitzpatrick is in full-on "don't care" mode.

I'm not targeting a single Jets player this week.

I just can't consciously do it—stay away.

Buccaneers TE Cameron Brate to IR

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With just one week left in the season and suffering a back injury in Week 16, this also comes as no surprise.

According to Rotoworld, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have placed tight end Cameron Brate on injured reserve, thus ending his season.

The Buccaneers have been eliminated from playoff contention, so now it's time to do some evaluating.

Behind Brate, the Bucs have Luke Stocker and Alan Cross.

I'm not a fan of any tight end on the Bucs this week—I'll be going right back to wide receiver Mike Evans, as always.

Will the Bucs play their starters in Week 17?

Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott to Play?

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On the surface this looks like good news, but it's also vague, too.

According to Brandon George of the Dallas Morning Star, Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett has said that the "preliminary plan for regular-season finale at Philadelphia is to play starters who are healthy."

Good news? Check. Vague? Check.

How is it vague? Well, they could very well play, but how much will they play? A quarter? A half?

To play guys like quarterback Dak Prescott, running back Ezekiel Elliott and wide receiver Dez Bryant when there is literally nothing to play for doesn't seem right.

I'd be genuinely surprised if they all play the entire game. Expect to see quite a bit of work from fellow quarterback Mark Sanchez and backup running backs Darren McFadden and Alfred Morris.

Don't fall into this trap when putting together your DFS lineups.

Redskins TE Jordan Reed to Play

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According to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, the Washington Redskins plan to play tight end Jordan Reed in the season finale.

As La Canfora notes, the Redskins are playing for their playoff lives.

If the Redskins win against the New York Giants and the Detroit Lions lose to the Green Bay Packers, the Redskins will be in.

Dealing with a shoulder injury, Reed has been largely ineffective since coming back initially, catching just two passes for 16 yards.

The Giants defense is really, really good, and something tells me Reed isn't quite at 100 percent—this will be tough for him to meet value.

I'm not a fan of Reed this week, but I'll likely talk myself into some exposure, because he is just so damn good.

If you're playing just a lineup or two, I'd look away from Reed.

Chargers RB Melvin Gordon to Be a Game-Time Decision

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After missing the last two weeks, there is some hope that San Diego Chargers running back Melvin Gordon could suit up in Week 17.

According to Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune, Gordon will be a game-time decision for Week 17.

While there's nothing at stake for the Chargers in terms of the playoffs, Gordon is just three yards away from 1,000 on the season.

If I had to bet, I'd say he plays this week—1,000 yards is an important feat for running back.

The Chargers will host the Kansas City Chiefs—they're still fighting for the No. 2 seed—expect them to be at full strength.

Good news for Gordon?

The Chiefs rank 23rd in DVOA against the run.

Play him.

Statistics courtesy of Pro Football Focus and Football Outsiders.

Follow me on Twitter @RichardJanvrin.