First things first: Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is out at least a month, and possibly six weeks, after suffering an MCL sprain on Sunday against the St. Louis Rams, per a report by Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports. It’s a tough blow for the Steelers, and an equally tough one for fantasy owners who likely thought they didn’t need to worry about their quarterback until the Steelers’ bye in Week 11.
Fantasy football waiver quarterback options following Ben Roethlisberger injury
Roethlisberger’s fantasy owners likely thought they didn’t have to worry about the position for most of the season, but that’s out the window. Here’s a look at who might be worth a waiver claim.
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Instead, the Steelers’ next game is Thursday, and Michael Vick will likely be the team’s starting quarterback when that game comes. Is Vick the best waiver-wire claim to fill in for Roethlisberger? Or is there another lightly owned option that makes sense? For the purposes of this, we’re just looking at fill-ins for the next four weeks, but in general the best candidates for that period will be close to the best rest-of-season candidates as well.
A few names of lightly owned quarterbacks according to Yahoo!:
Tyrod Taylor, Buffalo (37 percent owned in Yahoo!)
Through three games, Taylor has thrown for seven touchdowns against three interceptions and run for another score. All three picks came in Week 2 against the Patriots. He’s averaging 21.3 fantasy points a game, and plays his next four against the Giants, at the Titans, against the Bengals and at the Jaguars. That’s a fairly friendly group for a quarterback who has looked strong in his first go as a starter.
Jameis Winston, Tampa Bay (25 percent)
The downside of using a claim on Winston is that his own bye comes in Week 6, which means you’d have to find a replacement for your replacement in short order. And he’s hardly been flawless so far, with four touchdowns against three interceptions and only 13.7 fantasy points a game in his first three career outings. On the other hand, around that bye, Winston and the Buccaneers get home games against Carolina and Jacksonville and a road game at Washington. If you think the rookie continues to develop, that’s a good stretch for him to do so.
Michael Vick, Pittsburgh (2 percent)
We all saw Vick look terrible with the Jets last year. If he were still on a team that needed him to be the weapon, you wouldn’t want any part of him. But with Pittsburgh, who has Le’Veon Bell, Antonio Brown, Heath Miller, Markus Wheaton and (soon) Martavis Bryant, Vick doesn’t have to be the guy; he just needs to get the ball to the guys. He’s no sure thing to be able to do that, but the team will give him every chance to try. The Steelers play against Baltimore, at San Diego, against Arizona and at Kansas City, so it’s not the greatest schedule, but if you assume the weapons can fend for themselves, Vick could be helpful just as the distributor.
