Your fantasy team suffered a loss. Maybe a player got injured. Maybe he's just not playing well. Either way, you get to play the waiver wire now. It's all good when you're looking through the list of names, hoping to find the spark that will ignite your squad to the playoffs and beyond. But when it's in the with new, it has to be out with the old. Sometimes, it's easy to see the player that no longer deserves a spot on your roster. Sometimes ... not so much. Don't worry. We're here to help. Consider us the break up counselor that will help ease the separation.
All ownership percentages based on NFL.com leagues
Martavis Bryant, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers (63.8 percent owned)
Bryant was listed in this space earlier this season but earned some new life thanks to injuries and a suspension to Juju Smith-Schuster. Bryant has yet to really take advantage of any of those recent opportunities. In the two games without Smith-Schuster, Bryant had a combined 10 catches for 73 yards and one touchdown. Not great, Bob. For the season, he's had just one game with more than 48 yards receiving. So just as I wrote weeks ago ... it's not happening for The Alien this year.
Ameer Abdullah, RB, Detroit Lions (86.7 percent owned)
Why do we do this to ourselves with Lions running backs? No one ever believed that any Lions running back was going to be a fantasy stud this year. But there's always a scenario in which one can convince themselves that maybe -- just maybe -- Ameer Abdullah could be a nice RB2 option. Spoiler alert: he wasn't. In actuality, Abdullah has been outscored by Theo Riddick and hasn't even posted 60 scrimmage yards since Week 4. It's okay, you don't have to lie to yourself anymore. Abdullah's just not going to be that dude for you.
Amari Cooper, WR, Oakland Raiders (89.9 percent owned)
Remember that huge game Cooper had against the Chiefs on Thursday night? That was fun. That was also the only time he made a real impact in your fantasy lineup. Certainly, his injury situation over the past couple of weeks hasn't helped anything. But even when Cooper was healthy, there wasn't much production to speak of. He had four games with fewer than 10 receiving yards. Four. Games. With. Fewer. Than. Ten. Yards. I feel like I need to just repeat that sentence a few more times. But I'm pretty sure my editors would just cut it out. Anyway, drop Amari Cooper.
Bilal Powell, RB, New York Jets (83 percent owned)
It's kind of funny that in a season where so many of the Jets players have exceeded our fantasy expectations that the one guy we thought could be a viable option has fallen on his fantasy face. The Jets haven't been able to fully integrate Powell into the offense, in part because the team has insisted on using Matt Forte and Elijah McGuire as part of a three-man rotation. Now that we know Josh McCown is done for the season with a broken hand, we can probably close the book on Powell, as well.
Corey Davis, WR, Tennessee Titans (58.2 percent owned)
A lot of the highly-touted rookie receivers have left us high and dry this year. Davis began the year dealing with a nagging injury but even when he's been on the field, the results have been underwhelming. It's not all on Davis' shoulders, though. The Titans offense as a whole has been pretty uninspiring and the rookie wideout is feeling the effects of that. Regardless of whose fault it is, Davis hasn't been a productive fantasy option. Now isn't the time to wait for things to get better.
Marcas Grant is a fantasy editor for NFL.com and a man who is working on his 40th consecutive year of never having seen "It's A Wonderful Life" and doesn't plan to change that anytime soon. Tweet him movies you're avoiding or fantasy questions @MarcasG. Or find him on Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat (marcasg9).
