NFL Waiver Weekend: LIVE Running Blog

Ken Kelly

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Wouldn’t it be great to find a site that analyzed all the moves from one of the busiest weekends in the NFL from a more detailed fantasy football perspective?

Even better, wouldn’t you want it this weekend as it happened, and not some time next week?

Welcome to the new DLF.

We’ll be updating this column continuously throughout the entire weekend as news breaks with players who have been cut, traded, or otherwise find themselves with suddenly different values in fantasy and dynasty leagues.

The newest post will be on the top, so check back in all weekend.

Enjoy!

Final update: Sunday 7:30 PM PDT

On late Sunday night, it’s looking like TJ Housmandzadeh’s best option is signing with the Redskins.

The Seattle Times is reporting the Raiders are in the hunt as well.


Dezmon Briscoe and Pat White were both released yesterday and I figured White had the better chance to garner interest.

I was wrong.

Briscoe landed on the Tampa Bay practice squad while White went unclaimed.


Two running backs who we thought had been spared had only a one day reprieve. Julius Jones and LeGarrette Blount were both waived today.

At this point, neither should be on a dynasty league roster.

The Seahawks are going to go with Justin Forsett and Leon Washington to carry the load. They also kept Quinton Ganther and signed former 49er Michael Robinson to help out.

This has the making of a very ugly running back committee.


Dan LeFevour was lucky enough to get a second chance as well, as the Bengals dumped veteran J.T. O’Sullivan to claim him.

The Bengals are in trouble if Carson Palmer goes down. At least LeFevour’s lack of arm strength won’t make the Bengals realize what everyone else knows already – there’s something wrong with Carson’s shoulder.


Andre Brown is a Bronco after being claimed off waivers from the Giants. I actually like his prospects better there, but he’s an obvious injury risk.

He’s worthy of a roster spot in a dynasty league again, but only one with very deep rosters.


Patrick Turner is going to have a new chance to showcase his ability in New York after being claimed by the Jets.

You think they’ll ask him about the Dolphin playbook?


Zac Robinson landed on his feet and found a home on the Seattle practice squad.


Steve Johnson has sewn up the No. 2 wide receiver spot in Buffalo.Please excuse me as a I add him to none of my redraft teams.

Honestly, it’s a stretch to have him in any shallow dynasty league as well.


Expect Matt Leinart and TJ Houshmandzadeh to start their visits today.

The consensus around the league is that Houston may show the most interest in Leinart, as the Seahawks may not want to rock the boat with Charlie Whitehurst.

TJ Houshmandzadeh reportedly wants to play for the Vikings and it makes sense on both sides. He was on record last year saying it was a mistake to spurn the Vikings for the Seahawks when he signed his contract.

The Vikings are denying interest, but we’ll see soon enough.


One last note here on Saturday night.

We told you last month, but Max Hall is a great pickup in both yearly and dynasty formats. Ken Whisenhunt revealed today to Peter King that Hall was actually the best quarterback in camp.


Even with Montario Hardesty out for season, the Browns opted against keeping Chris Jennings. He can be dropped in any format.


One surprise cut that didn’t happen was Julius Jones in Seattle. At this point, he’s still on the roster.

Not great news for any Seattle running backs tonight, though. Alex Gibbs has resigned from his spot on the coaching staff. That’s not going to help Justin Forsett or anyone else.

In other Seahawk news, the team is denying any interest in Matt Leinart late tonight.


The emergence of Jermaine Gresham cost Chase Coffman a job. Coffman shouldn’t be on any rosters and Gresham is flirting with top 15 value at this point.


We told you earlier that Sam Hurd rolled the dice and opted not to accept a paycut from the Cowboys. Well, he won. Hurd made it through the final cuts today.

He’s still nothing more than a deep flier even in dynasty leagues.


Rumors were swirling all week that Kevin Smith could be on the chopping block. Well, he made the Lions squad, along with Aaron Brown, and Maurice Morris.

Smith is a worthy pick late in a redraft league as a handcuff to Jahvid Best. The others aren’t worthy of roster spots in any league at this point.


Dan LeFevour didn’t beat out Caleb Hanie to make the Bears squad and was released tonight.

LeFevour didn’t work out at the combine and it probably cost him at least a year or two on an NFL squad. The Bears had little invested in him since he was a sixth rounder


Brandon Jones was released yet again, this time by Seattle. His future in the league is grim at best.

You can drop him in any dynasty league.

Looks like Seattle is serious about going with all their young receivers. Probably a smart move as long they develop at some point.

Bump up Deion Branch, Deon Butler, Mike Williams, and Golden Tate. Keep an eye on Ben Obamanu as well.


The Giants cut Derek Hagan today. That should clear a spot for Monday Night Football sensation Victor Cruz. No word yet on the fate of  Sinorice Moss.


Time is running out on Vincent Jackson. He has yet to be traded today and we may not see him any time soon.

The Rams were reportedly interested this morning, but they’ve decided to pull out again just as quickly.


Chris Ogbonnaya has been waived by the Rams.That leaves Kenneth Darby and Keith Toston as the primary backups to Steven Jackson. I take back what I said about Peyton Manning being counted on the most by their team to stay healthy. The Rams need Jackson even more.


I said last week that my patience was up with New York Giants running back Andre Brown.

The Giants have agreed and waived the former NC State star. It’s too bad, but injures have done him in.


Sam Aiken isn’t in the Patriots plans. They just released him this afternoon. He wasn’t likely on too many rosters, but should be on none now.


The Rams have released Bobby Carpenter.

Yikes. The former Cowboy has now hit rock bottom. It was said the Cowboys loved having him on their team because he hit like a middle school kid.

He’s a worthy drop in fantasy leagues.


The Steelers have made some roster moves. Frank Summers was just released, along with Stefan Logan.

While neither of those two were on many fantasy radars, that’s a pretty clear indication that the late surge by Jonathan Dwyer has earned him a roster spot.


Chalk up another victory for the infirmary.

Cornelius Ingram was just waived by the Eagles. Injuries have wiped out what should have been a very productive career.


It’s not confirmed yet, but FOX News in Milwaukee is reporting the Vikings have already signed wide receiver TJ Houshmandzadeh.

The report is looking sketchier by the moment, though…


While Mike Williams looks to have resurrected his career, two other wide receivers took a big step back in a quest to do the same.

Javon Walker of the Vikings, and Chad Jackson of the Bills have both been released.

Neither of them are roster worthy in dynasty leagues again.


The Ravens have just released quarterback Troy Smith and wide receiver Demetrius Williams.

Smith is going to get his wish to play elsewhere, but there’s no chance of him finding a team to offer him a starting job. Ironically, it’s probably bad news for Matt Leinart as Smith may offer a quarterback needy team a little more versatility and less attitude.

Williams is a burner and it seems like he was a fantasy football sleeper every year since coming into the league as a fourth round pick in 2006.

He may find work, but there’s no guarantee there. Neither of these players should be on dynasty league rosters at this point.


LeGarrette Blount has reportedly made the Titans as the 3rd running back behind Chris Johnson and Javon Ringer.

He merits a roster spot in deep dynasty leagues if he can survive the upcoming wave of moves in the next few days.


James Hardy’s career in Buffalo is over.

The former second round pick has been cut by the Bills after an injury plagued tenure.

Hardy was a seemingly great prospect out of Indiana just a couple of years ago, but he just never blossomed into the player they hoped he would.

It’s going to be tough for him to find work and he shouldn’t be rostered in even the deepest of leagues at this point.


LeGarrette Blount is breathing a little easier after the Titans have released Samkon Gado today.

He’s nowhere close to out of the woods, though. Most thought Gado would stay and Blount would be sent to the practice squad.

All we know for sure is that scenario won’t play out.

Stay tuned.


Kenneth Moore of the Panthers wasn’t quite as lucky as some today – he was released by the Panthers.

Moore flashed some talent at camp, even running with the first team for a while with Steve Smith out.

In the end, he was beaten out by Dwayne Jarrett, Brandon LaFell, and maybe even Armanti Edwards.

That’s not a great sign for your career.


Devin Thomas should be thanking his lucky stars!

It looks like he’s going to make the final roster in Mike Shanahan’s first year at the helm. Consider this a serious make or break year for him.

You should keep him in a dynasty league, but he wouldn’t be anyone I’d be targeting to trade anything for.


The Cardinals have now officially released Matt Leinart.

You would think he’d look for a backup job now and attempt to resurrect his career, but he may just wait it out in hopes that an injury opens a door for him.

It’s a tough call between Crayton and Leinart as far as who is more delusional about their own value.

I would expect Pete Carroll and Seattle to be very interested after tossing out JP Losman this morning.

Minnesota could also use another quarterback after traded Sage Rosenfels.

Should be fun few days of Leinwatch!


The Chargers are an active bunch today. They surprisingly just released running back Shawnbrey McNeal, and quarterback Jonathan Crompton.

Both of these players should get some looks from teams this week. If you already have them stashed in a deep dynasty league, I’d advise holding on to them for a few more days, just to see where they sign.


It may seem small, but Green Bay dropped Kregg Lumpkin today. With just Brandon Jacksonbehind Ryan Grant, the Packers are rolling the dice.

Grant is being very undervalued in fantasy leagues right now. Jackson should also be owned as a clear handcuff in an explosive offense.


Here it is!

TJ Houshmandzadeh has been released by the Seahawks after they were unable to find a taker in trade.

Expect Cincinnati to take a look to appease their locker room, but I still see the Redskins, Bills, Vikings, Bucs, Raiders, and Falcons to be the best bets.

If I had to guess, I’d say Minnesota gives him a long, hard look. Reports are contradicting me at this point, though.

The big winner for the moment is Mike Williams, unless the Seahawks make a deal today for Vincent Jackson.


The Cardinals have informed Matt Leinart he’ll be released today.

No real shocker here, but it’s going to be fun to see where he ends up. I wouldn’t release him quite yet if I owned him in a dynasty league. I could see teams like Minnesota, Seattle, Buffalo, Indianapolis, Oakland, and San Francisco kick the tires a little.

The real key is going to be Leinart accepting the fact he’ll be a backup. Knowing him, he may not.

Max Hall is a player to own in all formats right now. The Cardinals may not know much about Derek Anderson, but fantasy players sure do. His inconsistency is going to drive Coach Whisenhunt crazy.


Denver has waived Brandon Stokley.

Stokley has done more with less than most other players in league history. He’ll be fondly remembered for his unbelievable 1,000 yard, double digit touchdown season as a Colt in 2004.

He’ll have a chance to stick somewhere else, but his days of fantasy relevance are over.

Meanwhile, his release could open the door for Eric Decker. He should already be owned in dynasty leagues, and should be a roster pickup in the late rounds of deeper yearly redraft leagues as well.


Something very intriguing is happening in Dallas today.

Sam Hurd has been asked to take a pay cut and he’s refused. It’s going to be interesting to see who wins this game of chicken

Hurd would most certainly find suitors on the open market.


Levi Brown was cut by Buffalo.

Many dynasty league owners took a shot at him with the putrid look of the Buffalo quarterback corps.

Unfortunately, Brown proved to be just too raw to keep on the active roster. The Bills will likely try to get him on their practices squad.

He can be safely dropped in dynasty leagues.


Jarvis Green has been cut by the Broncos.

For those who thought he could help out with the loss of Dumervil, this comes as a surprise. For those who thought he’d continue to disappoint, not so much.


Quarterback Zac Robinson was cut by the Patriots. The former Oklahoma State Star is going to find it very difficult to get a job.

He can obviously be released in deep dynasty leagues.


Is there any team more reliant on one player than the Colts?

Tom Brandstater was just released, leaving Curtis Painter as Peyton Manning’s primary backup once again.

If Manning ever gets hurt, it’s going to be ugly.


Josh Reed was just let go by the Chargers.

This move was expected after the acquisition of Patrick Crayton yesterday. Reed would have been a sneaky roster stash this year because of the offense he was in, but he’s waiver wire fodder now.


Pat White is the second bust draft choice to be waived by Miami today as he joins Patrick Turner.

White still may have a future in the league, but it’s most certainly not going to be as a quarterback.

His fantasy ceiling may be that of Brad Smith. You can cut ties and feel pretty good about it.


The enigma has finally been jettisoned.

As expectedMichael Clayton was finally released by Tampa Bay today.

Clayton is one of the biggest fantasy football disappointments of the last decade.  After an extremely promising start in his 2004 rookie season when he had 80 catches, 1,193 yards, and seven touchdowns. The rest of his career has featured 141 catches, 1,743 yards, and three touchdowns combined in the last five seasons.

He’ll have a hard time getting a job at this point.


Three kicking battles have been settled.

Billy Cundiff has beaten out Shayne Graham in Baltimore. Neil Rackers has ousted Kris Brown in Houston. Mike Nugent is getting a rebirth in Cincinnati after beating out Dave Rayner.

Plan accordingly and don’t be the guy who starts a kicker who isn’t kicking.


The Redskins backfield has finally come into focus this morning as Washington waived both Willie Parker and Ryan Torain.

They’ll likely try to keep Torain on the practice squad, but this is likely the end for FWP.

Good news for Larry Johnson and Keiland Williams, as they sit right behind Clinton Portis on the depth chart.

I remain confident that Williams is a super sleeper, worth an immediate pickup in dynasty leagues.


Joique Bell looks to be making the Bills squad as they released Chad Simpson.

Bell is a guy to keep an eye on in dynasty leagues, especially with the long-term future of Marshawn Lynch up in the air.


JP Losman was cut in Seattle. That may seem completely inconsequential, but he outplayed Charlie Whitehurst in most of their practices.

Might the Seahawks be preparing to sign another USC reclamation project in Matt Leinart? With as well as the Mike Williams rebirth seems to be going, you can hardly blame them for trying.


A little bit of a surprise from Carolina this morning as Hunter Cantwell was released.

Cantwell was supposed to challenge Matt Moore a little this Summer, but his release tells us two things.

First, Jimmy Clausen is the clear No. 2 quarterback for the season. Second, they must see something in Tony Pike, as the former Cincinnati quarterback looks to be making the team over Cantwell.

I wouldn’t advise picking up Pike in a dynasty league quite yet, though.


Matt Jones has been released by the Bengals. No real surprise here as he hadn’t shown much all camp.

This is probably the end of the road for the troubled converted receiver from Arkansas.

Regardless, he shouldn’t be on any rosters.


A bit of a surprise from Cincinnati this morning as wide receiver Dezmon Briscoe was released.

This sixth round pick from Kansas put up fantastic collegiate numbers, but was hampered early in camp with a hamstring injury. He finished the preseason strong, but that apparently wasn’t enough.

If I own Briscoe in a dynasty league, I sit back for a couple of days and see if he can land in a better situation and stick as a developmental project.


Patrick Turner was just waived by the Dolphins. The former third round pick lasted just one year on the Dolphins roster.

While he’ll get a look from some teams looking for wideouts, that’s a serious indictment on his ability.

He’s undraftable in a conventional league, and should be dropped in dynasty leagues as well.


Looks like the Cardinals are going with a serious youth movement at wide receiver as both Stephen Williams and Max Komar have reportedly made the initial final roster.

We’ve been talking about Williams for a while, but Komar’s late surge is a surprise. The undrafted rookie from Idaho would join a very crowded wide receiving corps in the desert.

Williams is still the superior pickup in dynasty leagues, but Komar merits watching. We’ve seen Coach Whisenhunt shows no favortism to veteran players time and time again.


Elvis Dumervil is out for the season.

Ouch. The Broncos defense is going to suffer the whole year with this one.

If you were looking just at last year’s numbers when choosing your 2010 defensive unit, just keep in mind he had 17 of their 39 sacks last season, and helped rush a lot of those passes that were intercepted.


Andre Davis was put on IR in Houston.

That’s not a seemingly huge deal, but it’s likely going to open the door for one of our favorite deep sleepers, Dorin Dickerson to make the team.

Dickerson isn’t roster worthy yet, but he merits watching.


Willis McGahee was absent from Ravens practice on Friday, fueling speculation he could be on the trade block.

I have my doubts, but we’ll know soon enough.


Guess who’s lobbying for TJ Houshmandzadeh to join him this season?

How many receivers do you need, Chad?!? There’s just no room for a TJ reunion in Cincinnati.


Sage Rosenfels was traded from the Vikings to the Giants.

We figured he’d be moved, but it’s curious they sent him to a team they play later this season.

This move also means Tarvaris Jackson will be going nowhere this season and Joe Webb should make the team as the No. 3 quarterback.

Holding on to Jackson in dynasty leagues is getting old, and I could make a case he’ll never really be a viable player in fantasy leagues.

If you have a taxi squad or a league with more than 30 roster spots for offense, Webb makes a worthy dynasty league addition as a project player.

I still want nothing to do with Rosenfels. He can stay on the wire.


Derrick Ward landed on his feet pretty quickly by signing a one year deal with the Texans.

Houston cut Jeremiah Johnson shortly after, so it made more sense. Johnson was a hot pickup earlier this week, but his injury made it too tough for the Texans to keep him on.

With Ben Tate, Chris Henry (who was also cut), and Johnson out of the way, Ward will probably be the primary backup to Arian Foster.

We’re right on a lot of things, but we may have been wrong to completely write Ward off this week after this development. Ward is roster worthy again, but really only as a handcuff.

Foster is fantasy gold right now.


We told you earlier this week that Charles Scott needed to be off your dynsaty league roster after his trade to Arizona.

He was cut by the Cardinals today, so that should put the final nail in the coffin for anyone who was waffling.


Another of our DLF favorites may have burst someone else’s bubble.

Adrian Arrington has apparently shared the news of him making the Saints final roster to a local newspaper.

He’s now worth adding in larger dynasty leagues as a developmental prospect with big upside.


Patrick Crayton was traded from Dallas from San Diego.

While he finally gets his wish to move to a different team, excuse me if I’m not running to my computer to snag him off waivers.

Malcom Floyd and Antonio Gates will get most of the passes that aren’t dumped to Ryan Mathews or Darren Sproles.

Crayton’s presence could hurt Legadu Naanee’s production, and it probably hurts Buster Davis, but I’d rather have any of those aforementioned Chargers than Crayton.

At least we’re sure Crayton will talk a good game. I just don’t see him as anything better than a No. 4 receiver in fantasy.

Kevin Ogletree looks a little better in Dallas, though. He’s a worthy add in dynasty leagues.


Matt Leinart was given a chance to find a trade partner and he refused, thinking the best chance for him to start was in Arizona.

He’ll be cut today.


Michael Robinson was among the early 49ers cuts. If you went to the wire to grab him after Coffee retired, you can safely find a replacement now.

Dominique Zeigler was one of our favorite deep sleeper wide receivers last week and it looks like he’s made the team over Jason Hill, who was cut along with Robinson.

Zeigler is worth adding in deep leagues.


It looks like TJ Houshmandzadeh is going to be playing for his third team in three years as the Seahawks seem poised to release or trade him.

I expect the Redskins, Bills, Vikings, Bucs, Raiders, Falcons, Panthers, Browns, and probably a host of others to show interest.

The big winner for the moment is Mike Williams, who looks poised to join Deion Branch in the starting lineup. We make our fair share of mistakes here, but we told you to start keeping an eye on him way back on July 3rd.

This could be the first of two major wide receiver moves for Seattle this weekend, as they’ve been long rumored to be courting Vincent Jackson as well.

Stay tuned.


LenDale White is out for the season with a ruptured Achilles tendon. He’s safe to drop in all formats now.


You would think Dennis Dixon would  be the starter in Pittsburgh with Byron Leftwich out with an MCL injury.

Unfortunately for Dixon owners, rumors are swirling that Charlie Batch will get the call.

I’m leaving the ultra-conservative Batch on waivers, regardless.


Montario Hardesty is out for the season with a torn ACL. We’ve been saying for months that he was a high risk player, and for once, we hate to be right.

Jerome Harrison jumps up the charts for redraft leagues, though we’re still skeptical about his long-term value. Peyton Hillis and James Davis should both be on dynasty league rosters as well.

ken kelly