Fantasy Football Week 11: 10 Big Names It's Finally Time to Say Goodbye To

At this point in the Fantasy season, it's time to trim rosters and replace under-performing duds with some upside.

Unfortunately, many owners will only look at the fringe players as flotsam to be cut, while the truth is that there are players you took high in your draft which are not worth the roster spot.

It's hard to cut them, but they aren't helping you and when you haven't plugged a guy into your lineup in weeks—he's pretty much useless. Heck, some of these guys you still have IN your lineups and won't get out because of a name. Some you're just hoping make it back in time to give you one game.

Time to let go.

Here are some names of guys you are probably holding onto tighter than you should.

Some of these guys just need to get out of your lineup. In some cases you just need to get them out of the starting lineup. In some cases, you need to get them as far from your roster as possible.

Let's see who is who.

Here's a freebie—if you still have the guy in the picture above on your team in the hopes he is coming back this year? He's the first one to go.

Matt Schaub

There has been some confusion about whether Matt Schaub will be able to come back this season, and so there are owners still hanging on to him, just in case.

Let me erase the illusion:

He's done for the year. The Texans might try to cram him in, but a LisFranc injury is nothing to be taken lightly and rarely something to get over quickly. It's usually a long process and even if he came back against all odds, would you trust a quarterback with a foot injury in your lineup?

It's time to cut bait. Thank him for his kind service, send him a fruit basket, whatever you feel the need to do—as long as you also send him packing.

Reggie Wayne

I can't be serious, right? No WAY do you cut Wayne. Even benching him is sacrilegious. I must be crazy.

Well, I am crazy, but that's what I'm advocating.

Take a long, hard, honest look at his season. One touchdown isn't getting it done, is it? One 100-yard game isn't helping either. Not topping five catches since Week 1 is dismal.

Here's a guy who, on average, is barely giving you WR3 numbers.

It's awful. Sure, he's not at fault for the most part. The Colts have no quarterback and no run game. Wayne just isn't getting the chance to do much.

That's the whole problem, though, and you can't afford to wait around for it to get better when you could grab Vincent Brown or Denarious Moore, who are out there producing.

If you can't pull the trigger, at least get him out of the lineup. However, consider that it's just one last space on the bench you can't fill with a player who might have some upside this year.

Peyton Hillis

It's been so long since Hillis has been in a lineup. He's sitting there on your roster, collecting virtual dust and you keep saying to yourself that when he comes back, he'll get back to 'baller' status again.

It's not happening. Aside from the everlasting hamstring injury, his conduct and attitude (regarding a desired new contract) has worn on the team and his teammates. There is no guarantee he will step back into an effective role when and if he does return.

The Browns have alternately been reported to be considering placing him on injured reserve or flat-out releasing him after the season.

That doesn't invoke much confidence. I haven't even gotten to the part where Cleveland's offense is so bad it made this guy lose his mind.

There is very little to indicate Hillis will salvage this season for himself or his owners. It's time to cut the cord and find a back with upside, perhaps a Joe McKnight or Danny Woodhead if he's sitting out there.

On a side note: I will never doubt the Madden Curse again.

Felix Jones

Poor Felix Jones. He was King of The Jerry World when he went down with an injury. a few weeks later, rookie DeMarco Murray had stolen his job.

Jones will be back soon and his benefactor—Cowboys owner Jerry Jones—is hell-bent on involving him heavily in the offense.

While this might make you feel hopeful, it flies in the face of good sense and Murray's 600 yards in four games.

Crazy Jerry may be, but not that crazy. Neither is Head Coach Jason Garrett.

They'll work Felix in a bit, but barring a critical injury to Murray, the job isn't going to be Felix's anytime soon.

I believe you can argue for keeping him on your roster, but he shouldn't be in your lineup. Frankly, I think you can do better and grab some upside at running back or at another position, rather than waste a spot on Jones in the hopes he might be starter-worthy again.

DeSean Jackson

We could put DeSean Jackson's face on a milk carton, as he has been missing since a 86-yard, one-touchdown outing in Week 5.

Jackson has been banged up, but more importantly, he has been a huge pain in the tail for the Eagles coaching staff.

Which is why they benched him against the Arizona Cardinals last week.

There has been some murmuring that he could have really helped the Eagles beat the Cards, but I say look at his last three games:

vs. WAS - 3 catches, 46 yards

vs. DAL - 3 catches, 31 yards

vs. CHI - 2 catches, 16 yards

This is not a good trend. If you add Weeks 2 (2 for 21) and 3 (2 for 30), for the most part he's had a very bad season. The only reason to not cut Jackson is that Jeremy Maclin is injured and may miss some time.

Otherwise, he might not even see time this week. Even if he does, at this point it's hard to imagine him getting anymore separation than he'd been getting before.

You grabbed Jackson as a great WR2 with WR1 upside. It's not happening, and it's time to move on.

Knowshon Moreno

I know a few people in the Denver media and they all said that Knowshon Moreno would continue to underwhelm this year.

So it's no shock that he was supplanted by Willis McGahee and given the fact that those same people had issues with his conditioning, it's not a shock he got hurt. He's been hurt often enough to get the reputation of being a bit of a China Doll.

If you were thinking he might come back, he won't. Even if he was, his 179 total yards are all you really need to know.

This one is simple. Cut him loose and grab some upside like Lance Ball, Jeremiah Johnson or Joe McKnight.

Ryan Grant

Briefly, Ryan Grant looked like he was going to hold off second-year back James Starks.

Then sanity prevailed and Starks remained the lead back in an offense that only runs the ball begrudgingly. Through 10 games, Grant has just 251 yards and no touchdowns.

He's not running very effectively, accumulating only 3.6 yards per carry—lower than you want to see in a running back. He doesn't run with power, doesn't have great speed and isn't a dominating force with the ball.

Everything he can do, Starks does better and at a lower price.

I thought Grant might have one more good year as the Packers tried to shop him or he tried to run well enough to get a big contract.

Neither happened and neither will. Grant isn't worth having on anything other than a deep roster and even then, mostly as support for Starks just in case.

Mike Williams

This season looked as though it was going to be a big one for the Tampa Bay offense.

Not so much.

Quarterback Josh Freeman has struggled pretty mightily and as he has played badly, the numbers for his receivers have dropped like bricks.

Mike Williams had an outstanding rookie year but backslid tremendously in 2011. He's actually getting targets (77, the most on the team) but many aren't very good quality throws and he's not doing much with the ones that are.

I'm hoping Williams can rebound next year, but I think this season is a loss for him and his owners. See if you can grab a Vincent Brown or Damian Williams.

As I have said throughout this piece, get upside, dump the dead weight.

Blaine Gabbert

Did you look at Cam Newton and think 'Oh, I want some of THAT!'?

Did you think that Jaguars quarterback Blaine Gabbert might replicate Newton's success? After all, both can scramble, have good arms and played out of the spread.

Didn't work out, though, did it?

Gabbert may develop into a good NFL quarterback but he isn't doing it this year and he's not going to be a good fantasy quarterback for a long time.

The only reason to have him on the bench is to have a backup and you have to ask yourself 'Would I feel good about rolling with Gabbert if my starting quarterback went down?'

The answer should be no.

Grab a guy with some consistent production for a backup and let Gabbert hit the turf.

He seems to have a lot of practice at that this year.

Joseph Addai

Joseph Addai just can't stay healthy. Beyond the awful team, beyond the lackluster offensive line and lack of a quarterback, Addai just can't stay on the field.

Early on, Addai had some good games but since Week 4, Addai has alternately been hurt and been an under-performer.

Addai has only one touchdown and 257 yards—that's brutal even for a flex spot. Nobody is doing well in that offense to begin with and it hasn't helped Addai that he has missed so much time due to a hamstring injury.

While the Colts are on their bye week, Addai will try again to get healthy.

Even if he does, he won't help your fantasy team. Defenses don't respect the pass, so they can stack against the run. Even at 100 percent, there is only so much Addai can do.

He's not going to help you any time soon, so drop him like a hot potato and see what you can do to fill that roster spot with someone who might contribute more than five times a year.