Good morning to everyone, including Russell Wilson. As you heard, the Broncos $245 million man will be benched for the remainder of the season before the team cuts him in March, per The Athletic’s Diana Russini.

The Raiders did the same to Derek Carr, who had a similar injury guarantee in his contract, at the end of 2022 before releasing him. His replacement? Jarrett Stidham.

In honor of an end of an era, the three most memorable Russell Wilson in Denver moments:

The bathroom challenge.

The plane workout.

The inspiration.

Honorable mention but too cringe: The Mr. Unlimited video.

PSA: As always, email us with any start/sit decisions (we’ll either be right, or you have someone to blame!).

Good news: In Week 16, Buffalo Bills LB Tyrel Dodson was named NFLPA Community MVP for hosting a special holiday shopping spree for single mothers. Moms need love too. Love to see it!

TRIVIA

POSITION REVIEW

QB: New Starters

Start Dak Prescott, who faces a Lions defense allowing the 7th most FP vs QBs in one of the highest totals of the week (53.5). It is highly likely that at least a couple of your DET/DAL fantasy pieces do well.

Start C.J. Stroud, who is looking to return to the lineup after missing the last two weeks for a concussion. The Titans are giving up the 13th-most passing YPG (245.9) to QBs and Stroud previously posted 274+ yards and 16.1+ FP in five straight games in Weeks 9-13, per Tom Brolley of Fantasy Points.

Start Brock Purdy (stinger), who faces a Commanders defense allowing the most fantasy points per game to QBs and the 2nd most passing yards per game this season, per Nick Skrip. The 49ers’ Wednesday practice report confirmed what Brock Purdy and Kyle Shanahan said after the blowout loss to the Ravens: The stinger isn’t going to affect the quarterback’s availability for Sunday. He’s playing.

Stream Derek Carr, who has thrown 3 TDs in each of his last 2 games and plays a weak pass D in TB (NFL’s worst pass D?).

New Starters:

• NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports Trevor Lawrence (shoulder) “probably should not play” in Week 17 against the Panthers. If that’s the case, C.J. Beathard will start against a Panthers team playing their best football of the season.

• Anyone with eyes can tell you that Jacoby Brissett should be starting over Sam Howell. Thankfully, Ron Rivera can see out of his transition lenses. He’s named Brissett the starter, a massive boom to all Washington WRs.

• Jarrett Stidham is starting over Russell Wilson. Stidham played in all three of the Broncos preseason games. Against the Rams in Preseason Week 3, Stidham directed Denver to scores on its first five drives. He might be an upgrade?

• Trevor Siemian starting while Zach Wilson recovers from a concussion. His prop is 177.5 passing yards against the Browns defense. Under.

Running Back

This is a smash spot for D’Andre Swift, who is coming off his best rushing game in months (92 yards and a TD) and had another touchdown overturned on replay. The Cardinals are allowing the most fantasy RB points in the league, and it’s not especially close, per Evan Silva of Establish the Run.

After he smashed his head off his teammate’s knee, Isiah Pacheco (concussion) is expected to miss Week 17 and has not practiced this week.

Rhamondre Stevenson was placed on IR, meaning Zeke’s workload (which has been near-elite with at least 17 opportunities in the three games without Rhamondre) should continue to be heavy. Against a Bills team that should force them into some passing situations, Elliott is a solid RB2 option for fantasy championship week, per Fantasy Pros.

Alexander Mattison missed one game due to injury and that’s all it took for Ty Chandler to become Minnesota’s feature back. Mattison returned to the lineup after his one-game absence to just four total snaps.

Minnesota could lean further into the running game with a QB mess and Jordan Addison plus T.J. Hockenson injured, per Fantasy Pros. Mattison ought to be healthier this week and is stronger in pass protection.

• Rachaad White’s been a top-10 PPR RB in 4 straight weeks (20+ carries in all 4).

• Commanders placed RB Chris Rodriguez (ankle) on injured reserve. Brian Robinson (hamstring) was limited in practice — could return, but Antonio Gibson is worth an extra look.

And for anyone with Zamir White shares, be mindful that Josh Jacobs is likely to return 👇️ 

Wide Receiver

Rashee Rice is balling. In the past five weeks, Rice has a Chiefs-leading 28% target share and 12 of the team's 22 red zone targets. That's plenty for him to make an impact when the matchup is right, such as this one against a Bengals defense that has allowed five different wide receivers to score 15-plus points in the past four weeks alone, per ESPN.

Garrett Wilson has a tough matchup, but was peppered with targets (15) with Siemian under center last week. The volume of looks is still likely to be there for Wilson on Thursday, but his fantasy ceiling feels like it will be significantly capped by this Browns defense.

There have been rough outings from quality fantasy WRs this season against this Cleveland secondary over the last three games, as noted by ProFootballNetwork.

• Calvin Ridley: Four catches for 53 yards

• DJ Moore: Four catches for 52 yards

• Nico Collins: Four catches for 18 yards, TD

Chargers WR Joshua Palmer (concussion) did not practice Wednesday, while Keenan Allen is still not practicing. Jalen Guyton and Quentin Johnston would serve as the Chargers’ top receivers. Yikes.

Chiefs lockdown CB L’Jarius Sneed (calf) did not participate in Wednesday’s practice, and his absence (he held Davante Adams to just 4 yards in Week 16) would be huge for all Bengals WRs. Ja’Marr Chase might be out again — Tee Higgins to the moon.

Amari Cooper (heel) is “hopeful” he can play tonight against the Jets. David thinks you don’t have to start Cooper 👇️ 

Other Notes:

• Michael Pittman Jr. might be out again too

• No injury designation for DJ Moore despite rolling his ankle last week

• Nico Collins only played 47% of snaps last week, but should be healthier this week and see more work (especially with Stroud back)

• Waddle (high ankle sprain) could be a long shot — Cedrick Wilson could be a desperation FLEX play

• Monitor GB WRs — Watson a DNP and Jayden Reed limited — Doubs did well last week in their absence

• K.J. Osborn could be a FLEX play with Addison unlikely to play and Hockenson on IR (more on Hockenson below)

Tight End Info To Know

Travis Kelce has finished as the TE20 in back-to-back games. While he’s still the TE2 overall, it’s hard not to consider this season a disappointment for anyone who invested a 1st or early 2nd round pick in Taylor Swift’s boo. This has been Travis Kelce's worst 4-game stretch (8.4 half PPR per game) since Week 1 of 2018, per Hayden Winks of Underdog.

David Njoku has reached another level with Joe Flacco under center. The Browns TE is averaging 23.3 FPPG over the last 3 weeks with 4 total TDs during that stretch. Not only is he a huge red zone target, but he also leads all TEs with 501 YAC, per @NFL_Stats.

• T.J. Hockenson was placed on IR with an MCL and ACL injury. Josh Oliver and Johnny Mundt will fill in at TE, but the vacated targets will likely be dispersed among the WR corps. Avoid streaming either.

• Cole Kmet has been a top-10 TE in 4 straight games, but missed practice yesterday with a knee injury he suffered in last week’s game. Robert Tonyan would likely get the start if Kmet were to miss this week. He’s not on your radar.

Streamers: Tyler Kraft, Jake Ferguson (faces DET allowing 8th most points to TEs).

D/ST

Raiders D/ST are first in FPPG since Antonio Pierce took over as interim HC (7 games), per @LateRoundQB. They’re coming off back-to-back 20+ FP performances with 2 defensive TDs in each performance.

Stat of the Day: Montez Sweat currently leads both the Washington Commanders (6.5) and Chicago Bears (6.0) in sacks, per @NFLonCBS. The Bears D/ST have 14 sacks and 12 INTs in their last 5 games and have a juicy Wk 17 matchup against Taylor Heinicke and the Falcons.

Vikings D/ST have 15 sacks in their last 5 games and have forced 5 turnovers over their last 3, per Theo Gremminger of PlayerProfiler. They’ll look to continue their success against Green Bay’s depleted receiving corps.

QUICK SLANTS

📖 Read The Best Fantasy Football Plays by Matthew Freedman of Fantasy Life. Matthew lists down his favourite starts at each position in the final week of the fantasy season. Expect a bounce back week from Brock Purdy. 

📖 Read Revisiting the Most Popular Draft Strategies for 2023 ($) by Renee Miller of The Athletic. Read this article to revisit which of the several strategies fantasy managers used this off-season paid off and which one’s didn’t. The late round QB strategy seems to continue to be a winner.

📖 Read Rushing Report by Kate Magdziuk of PFF. Khalil Herbert is coming off a season high in carries, rushing yards and explosive runs in week 16 which should give him the opportunity to continue his hot play in week 17.

🎙️Listen to Purdy’s Struggles, Hockenson and Waddle Injuries + More  by Rotoworld Fantasy Show. They break down offensive issues from high-powered offensive teams like the Dolphins and Chiefs (9:46) and some trends such as the Steelers starting Mason Rudolph (43:00).

🎙️Listen to Ranking the Fantasy Players Who Ruined the Holidays by The Ringer Fantasy Football show. Tony Pollard (3:19) and De’Von Achane (8:57) highlight the list of players who disappointed us when we needed them most.

📺️ Watch Broncos HC Sean Payton try to sell the media that benching Wilson was strictly a football decision.

Tweet of the Day

Anybody there?

Enjoy Jets vs. Browns tonight.

And remember:

- Jake, Eddie, Marcus & Sean

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