Congratulations, you’ve done it. It’s playoff time! Or maybe time to prepare for the draft, depending. Whether you’re stashing somebody for next season or looking for an emergency option just in case, this week’s waiver wire has something for you.
Probably Gone, but Double Check
Ben Sinnot, TE, Washington Commanders
Zach Ertz’s storied run of blocking young, talented tight ends came to a tragic end with his unfortunate ACL injury. Backhanded quips aside, he really was playing well as a reliable target for both Jayden Daniels and Marcus Mariota.
Ben Sinnott might finally get his chance now, and if he doesn’t, it’s a massive red flag. Most Sinnott owners have probably held on to him this whole time, but he was dropped in a couple of my leagues (albeit picked up quickly), so who knows. He’s a priority add in all formats for this four-week audition he’s been granted.
Priority Adds
Riley Leonard, QB, Indianapolis Colts
Daniel Jones unfortunately tore his Achilles tendon, ending what was shaping up to be a resounding comeback season. With Jones out of commission and Anthony Richardson previously suffering a freak eye injury caused by a resistance band, it falls to Riley Leonard to try to keep this team afloat.
There is actually significant rushing upside with Leonard, which makes him a priority option down the stretch. In his final year at Notre Dame, Leonard rushed for over 900 yards, and in fact he scored a rushing touchdown in week 14.
For any quarterback-needy team with something to play for, Leonard is a priority add. Unfortunately, this is slightly complicated by his suffering his own injury when called into action. For now, head coach Shane Steichen has said the hope is that Leonard can play next week, but that didn’t stop them from working out a geriatric Phillip Rivers on Monday.
Ryan Flournoy, WR, Dallas Cowboys
Flournoy had a huge game with a 9-115-1 line on 13 targets. This was caused by CeeDee Lamb leaving the game with a concussion, and while the reporting on Lamb’s status for Week 15 is positive, Fluornoy needs to be rostered.
While I don’t believe Flournoy has long-term upside as long as both Pickens and Lamb are around, we officially need to view him as a legitimate depth piece with contingent upside in case of injuries to either wide receiver in front of him on the depth chart.
Waiver Adds
Kenny Pickett, QB, Las Vegas Raiders
Geno Smith exited the Raiders’ loss to the Broncos with hand and shoulder injuries. While the hand injury appears to be minor, the severity of the shoulder injury is unclear to me. Whether serious or not, Smith has thoroughly earned at minimum a soft benching anyway, so maybe it’s Kenny Pickett time.
However, the Raiders have stuck with Geno through the bad, the worse, and the ugly, so maybe they go back to him anyway in this white flag of a season.
Andrei Iosivas, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
Tee Higgins re-entered the Bengals’ game against the Buffalo Bills twice after being evaluated for concussions, and then later self-reported concussion symptoms. He’ll most likely miss at least a week.
Iosivas isn’t an exciting option, but he is the next man up for however much time Higgins misses. Only teams in need of a spot-starter or emergency depth should be interested.
Brady Cook, QB, New York Jets
Tyrod Taylor was knocked out of the Jets’ game against the Dolphins, and Cook was pressed into service. He didn’t exactly cook, if you’ll excuse the pun, but he might be starting this week’s game against the Jaguars. He’s not a remotely interesting option, but I’m not doing my job if I don’t call out which available quarterbacks might be starting games.
Deep League Stashes
Phillip Rivers, QB, Indianapolis Colts
Listen, Rivers was cooked when he last played in the league, and that itself was five years ago. I have no realistic hopes for him. Still, I feel required to report that he may be starting football games next week. Starting quarterbacks should be rostered in dynasty leagues, even if this is really stretching it.