It wasn’t quite a surprise when the New Orleans Saints announced that quarterback Drew Brees would not be playing on Sunday against the Carolina Panthers. Right after the Saints lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, it was said that the reason for his poor play was because of an injury and that he might be out for a few weeks, although this did not become definite until a few days later. And if you weren’t paying attention, this could have wrecked your daily fantasy football roster as Brees was not definitely out when leagues that began on Thursday were locked into place. Brees was not the only QB that was pulled for Sunday’s games, though. The Chicago Bears have also announced that QB Jay Cutler will not be playing this weekend, either.
The Bears have not played well yet this season, and Cutler certainly isn’t as high of a profile player as Brees, but the loss of Cutler creates a small void in many people’s fantasy rosters this weekend. Cutler has been a solid mid-tier QB pick in many leagues in the past, both season long and at the top daily fantasy sports sites. Cutler is nowhere near the tops of people lists of the top QBs out there, but he does have one very strong tool: he’s accurate when he throws long. His accuracy rate is not the best right now at 57.8 percent for a completion rate, but when Cutler goes long, he’s more accurate than the average QB, and that will eventually lead to a higher number of touchdowns if he keeps this up over the course of the season. While the average QB is getting about 5 or 6 yards per attempted pass, Cutler is getting 7.7. That extra yard or two will eventually add up over the course of the season and lead to a few big games here and there. If you can find Cutler for cheap—and he’s been very cheap this year—this could create a great deal of value.
This weekend, the Bears are playing the Seattle Seahawks. Both teams are 0-2, but without Cutler, the Bears are at a serious disadvantage. They are also keeping Alshon Jeffery off the field, and that means trouble. The Seahawks have had their fair share of struggles, but against the weak Chicago defense and not much offense from backup QB Jimmy Clausen, Seattle should win this game with ease. Seattle’s defense looks to be a top fantasy pick this weekend as a result of this.
Look to Chicago running back Matt Forte to clean up this weekend in the stats department. Forte has perhaps been one of the reasons why Cutler hasn’t had many throws this year—he’s dominated with yards and currently sits at #3 on the list of RBs with the highest number of yards for the season. Forte was limited in Thursday practice because of a knee injury, but if he does play Sunday, he should be Clausen’s main weapon. The 101 yards per game he’s averaging right now should be maintained, and you can expect a solid chance of a touchdown when in the red zone. The Seahawks do have a good defense despite playing pretty poorly this year. If they are able to find a good groove, this could be the game that they come back, and that could put a damper on Forte’s numbers. Still, this hasn’t happened yet; it’s just something to keep in mind. However, it’s probably a good idea not to overpay for Forte for this reason. There are other RBs around the same price without as many hindrances in their way.
