We have only two weeks of bye teams left, and this week should be less painful than before. The Dallas Cowboys, Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Jets and Baltimore Ravens are the only teams on bye, so quarterbacks like Tony Romo, Joe Flacco and Michael Vick will not be available. This should actually be good news for Romo owners, since he has an extra week to rest his ailing back.
Fantasy football waiver wire: 5 quarterbacks to target for Week 11
It’s time to start thinking about the fantasy playoff races. Here are some waiver wire quarterbacks who could help you in Week 11 with four more teams on bye.
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With only 3-4 weeks to go before the fantasy playoffs start in many leagues, the waiver wire takes on an even greater importance as you assemble your roster for the stretch run. Here are five quarterbacks owned in less than 50 percent of Yahoo! leagues who could help you out in Week 11.
Robert Griffin III, Washington (46 percent) -- Griffin made his semi-triumphant return in Week 9 after missing most of the year with a dislocated effort. Despite another loss for Washington, Griffin's numbers were respectable -- 18-of-28 passing, 251 yards, one touchdown, one interception. Perfectly acceptable QB2 numbers. He's now had the bye week to give his ankle extra rest and will be facing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and their crumbling defense at home. Griffin is a viable QB1 play this week.
Josh McCown, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (14 percent) -- Let's get a few things out of the way first -- Josh McCown is not good, he's barely an upgrade over Mike Glennon, and the Bucs are making a mistake turning back to him. With that said, McCown still put up decent stats against the Atlanta Falcons, throwing for 301 yards on 27-of-43 passing in a game that was still close until the fourth quarter. With the 1-8 Bucs' season in the toilet, the logical move should be to see more of what Glennon has to offer, but it appears McCown will remain the starter. He's only a QB2 option against Washington's defense if you're really desperate.
Teddy Bridgewater, Minnesota Vikings (7 percent) -- Bridgewater still has his rookie struggles, but he had a better showing against Washington in Week 9, throwing for 268 yards and a touchdown and avoiding turnovers for the second week. Plus, did you see that Chicago Bears defense on Sunday night? Bridgewater is no Aaron Rodgers, but he has a tasty matchup with the Bears in complete freefall. He'll be one of the top bargains in FanDuel leagues this week.
Ryan Mallett, Houston Texans (4 percent) -- It took the Texans all of nine games to give up on Ryan Fitzpatrick, naming Mallett the starter shortly after Week 9 and giving him the bye week to prepare with the first team. Mallett is almost a complete blank slate, having attempted only four passes in a regular-season game. We don't have much to go on outside of glowing training camp reports from the New England Patriots, who had been shopping him for years. What we do know is that Mallett has a better arm than Fitzpatrick, and the Cleveland Browns defense isn't what it was a year ago. Assuming Arian Foster is healthy enough to play, Mallett is a decent dart throw in two-quarterback leagues.
Drew Stanton, Arizona Cardinals (1 percent) -- Carson Palmer is done for the year after tearing his ACL on Sunday. Stanton already started three games earlier this season, leading the Cardinals to a 2-1 record. His stats aren't all that impressive, though. Stanton has completed only 49.5 percent of his passes and is averaging 6.6 yards per attempt. He does have a good arm -- which should help keep up the fantasy values of Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Floyd -- and has yet to commit a turnover. Still, the 30-year-old journeyman is only a desperate option against the Detroit Lions' elite pass defense.
Honorable mentions: Alex Smith (41 percent), Kyle Orton (15 percent), Derek Carr (11 percent), Zach Mettenberger (3 percent), Shaun Hill (less than 1 percent)
