Fantasy Football Week 13 Waiver Wire: Dalvin Cook and Christian McCaffrey injuries create need and options – CBSSports.com

The injury report coming out of Week 12 was brutal. It was not a pleasant Thanksgiving weekend for many Fantasy managers.

It started Thursday when D’Andre Swift (shoulder) and Darren Waller (knee) were hurt. Then came Sunday when Christian McCaffrey (ankle), Dalvin Cook (shoulder), Deebo Samuel (groin) and Dan Arnold (knee) all suffered serious injuries. It’s not ideal with the Fantasy playoffs on the horizon. 

McCaffrey was placed on injured reserve and is out for the season, and Cook is out for at least two games. Waller is considered “week-to-week,” while Samuel is expected to “miss some time.” Arnold is likely out 4-6 weeks, which means his Fantasy season is over.

There’s a chance Swift could play Sunday in Week 13, but we’ll have to see what happens during practice. We’re also keeping an eye on other injuries to Jalen Hurts (ankle), Miles Sanders (ankle), Darrell Henderson (quad) and J.D. McKissic (neck), and hopefully all of them can play this week.

Now, it’s not all doom and gloom. Alvin Kamara (knee) and Mark Ingram (knee) are trending in the right direction to play for the Saints in Week 13, and the Cowboys are getting CeeDee Lamb (concussion) and Amari Cooper (COVID-19) back as well. The Cardinals also might have Kyler Murray (ankle) and DeAndre Hopkins (hamstring) returning in Week 13.

However, when you lose guys like McCaffrey, Cook, Waller and Samuel for an extended period of time, especially with the Fantasy playoffs almost here, it’s tough to overcome. But we’re here to help.

There are plenty of quality replacement options for you in this column to keep your Fantasy season afloat, including some of my favorite options like Taysom Hill, Boston Scott, Jamaal Williams, Sony Michel, Logan Thomas and Foster Moreau, among others. It’s going to be a busy week on the waiver wire. So let’s get started.

Editor’s note: For this waiver wire column, we are only looking at players rostered in less than 65 percent of CBS Sports leagues.

Week 13 Waivers

• Injuries: Kyler Murray (ankle), Aaron Rodgers (toe), Jalen Hurts (ankle), Teddy Bridgewater (shin), Justin Fields (ribs), Taysom Hill (foot), Daniel Jones (neck) and Zach Wilson (knee).
• On a bye: Aaron Rodgers, Cam Newton, Ryan Tannehill and Baker Mayfield.
• Check to see if available: Derek Carr (88 percent rostered) and Carson Wentz (80 percent). Carr played well at Dallas in Week 12 with 22 Fantasy points, and he should stay hot in Week 13 against Washington. He’s worth trusting again as a starting quarterback in all leagues with this matchup. … Wentz turned in a strong Fantasy outing in Week 12 against Tampa Bay with 26 points, and he has a great matchup in Week 13 at Houston. He scored 20 Fantasy points against the Texans in Week 6 and should be considered a serviceable starter once again in the rematch.
• Drop candidates: Cam Newton (87 percent rostered), Ryan Tannehill (84 percent) and Matt Ryan (69 percent). Newton isn’t worth stashing on his bye in one-quarterback leagues. He does have a favorable matchup in Week 14 against Atlanta, but he also just scored five Fantasy points in Week 12 at Miami. … Tannehill also isn’t worth stashing on his bye, especially with his receiving corps decimated by injuries. … Ryan has combined for 13 Fantasy points in his past three games. Until Calvin Ridley (personal) returns, you can’t start Ryan in any leagues.

• Injuries: Darrell Henderson (quad), D’Andre Swift (shoulder), Alvin Kamara (knee), Christian McCaffrey (ankle), Dalvin Cook (shoulder), Miles Sanders (ankle), Mark Ingram (knee), Michael Carter (ankle), J.D. McKissic (neck), Chase Edmonds (ankle), Derrick Henry (foot), Jordan Howard (knee), Jeremy McNichols (concussion), Trey Sermon (ankle), Rashaad Penny (hamstring) and Travis Homer (calf).
• On a bye: Aaron Jones, A.J. Dillon, Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt, Chuba Hubbard, Ameer Abdullah, D’Onta Foreman, Dontrell Hilliard and Jeremy McNichols.
• Check to see if available: Alexander Mattison (78 percent rostered) and Devin Singletary (75 percent). Mattison is the No. 1 player to add if available with Cook expected to miss at least two weeks. Mattison has top-five upside in all leagues as the starter for the Vikings, and he scored at least 22 PPR points in the two starts he made for Cook earlier this season. … Singletary looks like the lead running back for Buffalo, although he’s still in a tandem with Matt Breida. In Week 12 at New Orleans, with Zack Moss a healthy scratch, Singletary led the Bills with 16 total touches, compared to 11 for Breida. Now, Singletary managed just 48 total yards (Breida had 54), but you should still roster Singletary where available.
• Drop candidates: Christian McCaffrey (100 percent rostered), Zack Moss (69 percent), Jeff Wilson (67 percent), D’Ernest Johnson (61 percent) and Tony Jones (32 percent). There’s no reason to roster McCaffrey in any seasonal leagues now that he’s out for the season. … Moss isn’t worth stashing in most leagues if he’s third on the depth chart behind Singletary and Breida. … Wilson can be kept as a handcuff for Elijah Mitchell, but he’s clearly the No. 2 running back in San Francisco. … Johnson isn’t worth stashing with Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt healthy, especially with Cleveland on a bye. … Jones is back to being third on the depth chart at best for the Saints behind Kamara and Ingram, and he’s not worth stashing in most Fantasy leagues.

• Injuries:  Deebo Samuel (groin), DeAndre Hopkins (hamstring), Amari Cooper (illness), A.J. Brown (chest), Antonio Brown (ankle), Odell Beckham (hip), Calvin Ridley (personal), Corey Davis (groin), Allen Robinson (hamstring), Julio Jones (hamstring), Kadarius Toney (quad), Sterling Shepard (quad), DeVante Parker (shoulder), Will Fuller (finger) and Randall Cobb (groin).
• On a bye: Davante Adams, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Allen Lazard, Randall Cobb, D.J. Moore, Robby Anderson, Jarvis Landry, Donovan Peoples-Jones, Nick Westbrook, Chester Rogers and Dez Fitzpatrick.
• Check to see if available: Calvin Ridley (80 percent rostered) and Van Jefferson (69 percent). It’s not a bad idea to speculate on Ridley where available with the hope he returns at some point this season. … Jefferson has at least seven targets in three games in a row, and he just had nine targets in Week 12 at Green Bay for three catches, 93 yards and a touchdown. We hope that continues, and Beckham is a little banged up, although he should play in Week 13 against the Jaguars. Jefferson has the chance to be a No. 3 Fantasy receiver in most leagues moving forward.
• Drop candidates: Emmanuel Sanders (91 percent rostered), Courtland Sutton (89 percent), Cole Beasley (87 percent), Marvin Jones (86 percent) and Tyler Boyd (66 percent). It’s hard to trust Sanders and Beasley right now. Sanders hasn’t scored since Week 5, and he’s combined for 16 PPR points in his past three games on just 10 targets. And Beasley has scored 18 PPR points in his past three games on just 12 targets as he’s been playing through a rib injury. I would hold Beasley in PPR, but I’m dropping him in non-PPR formats. … Sutton has been bad lately, and it coincides with Jerry Jeudy coming back from his ankle injury. In his past four games, Sutton has combined for 16 PPR points with just 12 targets. I hate dropping him, but you might need to move on. … Jones has one touchdown since Week 2 and has scored nine PPR points or less in five games in a row. … Boyd has one touchdown since Week 3 and has two games over seven PPR points since Week 4.

• Injuries: Darren Waller (knee), Pat Freiermuth (concussion) and Dan Arnold (knee)
• On a bye: David Njoku, Austin Hooper, Tommy Tremble, Geoff Swaim and Josiah Degaura.
• Check to see if available: Noah Fant (78 percent rostered). Fant is tough to trust with no touchdowns since Week 6, and he’s combined for 16 PPR points in his past three games. But he does have a positive matchup against the Chiefs in Week 13, and he’s still worth using as a low-end starter in all leagues. Kansas City is No. 6 in most Fantasy points allowed to opposing tight ends this year.
• Drop candidates: Tyler Higbee (69 percent rostered), Dan Arnold (59 percent) and Jared Cook (59 percent). Higbee has one touchdown since Week 5 and just had one catch for 3 yards on five targets in Week 12 at Green Bay. I would hold him in PPR leagues, but I would cut him in non-PPR formats. … Arnold is likely done for the Fantasy season with a 4-6 week timeline for his injury, so you can drop him. … Cook scored against the Broncos in Week 12, but that was his first touchdown since Week 6. He’s also been at 48 yards or less in seven games in a row.

• Vikings (35 percent rostered) at DET

  Chiefs (19 percent rostered) vs. DEN

  Bengals (15 percent rostered) vs. LAC

• Daniel Carlson (51 percent rostered) vs. WAS

  Matt Gay (52 percent rostered) vs. JAC

  Matt Prater (35 percent rostered) at CHI

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