Fantasy Football Week 2: 3 Players to Trade While They Still Have Value

In fantasy football, a player's value can rise out of nowhere and disappear just as quickly.

If you're looking to flip a player before his fortunes change in order to add talent to your team, that window can be excruciatingly small. Even worse is moving a player before he stops benefiting your team.

Timing is key, especially when talking about players who aren't go-to starters and verified studs. Here, I will detail three players with time-limited value who are worth trading away this week for someone with longer-term value.

Ben Tate, Running Back, Houston Texans

The clock is running out on Ben Tate's guaranteed weekly fantasy value, now that starter Arian Foster is healing.

Foster, who fully participated in practice on Wednesday, is looking ready to play this Sunday against the Miami Dolphins. While it's not yet a foregone conclusion that Foster will even play in his Week 2 game, he will likely split carries with Tate if he's active.

Barring further injury, or an amazing performance by Tate mitigated by limited production by Foster, this may be the last week for some time that Tate is a must-start.

If you can trade him for value, perhaps to a frustrated Foster owner who doesn't want to see his or her first-round pick sitting on the bench while an RB3 scores few points, you may be able to pick up a player that can bring your team more production throughout the season.

Jay Cutler, Quarterback, Chicago Bears

Jay Cutler is the prototypical fantasy football feast-or-famine player destined to frustrate whoever owns him. However, there are ways to make a smart trade while divesting yourself of the burden he's destined to become as the season wears on.

The Bears lack stable targets for Cutler to throw to, but the team is able to pull out an impressive offensive performance a few times throughout the season.

That the Bears' first game ended in a win against a formidable opponent (the Atlanta Falcons), and that Cutler had a major role in that win, means the time is now if you want to trade him away for significant value.

Though he threw one interception, Cutler had 312 passing yards and two touchdowns in Week 1.

You may be able to put together a trade for one or two players with a team that has a worse stopgap quarterback in place after drafting Peyton Manning, or teams that have been stuck starting struggling passers such as Matt Cassel or Kyle Orton.

But, if you decide to do so, try to get it done before Sunday. The thing with Cutler is that one good performance doesn't mean another will immediately follow.

If he drops to 132 yards, two interceptions, and one touchdown in this week's game against the New Orleans Saints, he will become impossible to trade.

Jermaine Gresham, Tight End, Cincinnati Bengals

Jermaine Gresham looked solid in the Bengals' regular season opener against the Cleveland Browns last week, catching six balls for 58 yards and a touchdown.

Regardless of who is throwing to him, whether it be starter Andy Dalton or backup Bruce Gradkowski, he is liable to get many looks as the season progresses.

But it looks to be an up-and-down season ahead for the tight end on a team that is going to struggle on offense in 2011.

Tight end depth is out of this world this year, but some sure-things are starting to show their true (disappointing) colors, making Gresham a smart player to move if you already have an every-week starting tight end lined up.

There's no better time to attempt to trade a player than after a good week. Gresham's value has jumped significantly since Week 1, and it's quite possible he will play well this week against the Denver Broncos, whose defense is poor against the tight end position.

If this is the case, you may be able to wait until after Sunday to get even greater trade value for Gresham, but in the shorter-term, he can be traded alone or in a package for a player with definite starting potential.