{"id":247811,"date":"2025-09-23T15:30:30","date_gmt":"2025-09-23T19:30:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=247811"},"modified":"2025-09-23T13:38:23","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T17:38:23","slug":"fantasy-football-cut-candidates-week-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/09\/23\/fantasy-football-cut-candidates-week-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Fantasy Football Cut Candidates: Week 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

Three games in, the story is clearer. As a result, roles are settling, coaching staffs are showing their hand, and several widely rostered names simply do not have a path to helping 12-team fantasy lineups. This is not about overreacting to one bad Sunday. Instead, it is about acknowledging what Weeks 1\u20133 have already told us\u2014injuries have removed some players from the equation, while others have usage profiles that do not justify a bench spot. To keep an edge heading into the Tuesday waiver run, managers need to move decisively. Below, you will find the Fantasy Football Cut Candidates: Week 3<\/strong>, grouped by injury-related<\/strong> and opportunity\/role-related<\/strong> reasons.<\/p>\n

\"James
Sep 21, 2025; Santa Clara, California, USA; Medical personal tend to Arizona Cardinals running back James Conner (6) during the second half against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Injury-Related Drops<\/h2>\n

James Conner \u2014 Arizona Cardinals<\/a> (Rostered ~97%)<\/h3>\n

This one is straightforward. Conner\u2019s season-ending ankle injury<\/a> eliminates any redraft value. There\u2019s no \u201cwait and see\u201d with a player who won\u2019t be back; keeping him blocks a roster spot you need for a streamer or an upside stash who can impact lineups now. In every 12-team redraft without IR, Conner should be released immediately.<\/p>\n

Najee Harris \u2014 Los Angeles Chargers<\/a> (Rostered ~50%)<\/h3>\n

Harris suffered an Achilles injury and is expected to miss the rest of the season. Even the most optimistic recovery timelines land well beyond the window that matters in redraft formats. Accordingly, free the space today and put it to work on a player who can actually contribute the next several weeks.<\/p>\n

Colston Loveland \u2014 Chicago Bears<\/a> (Rostered ~51%)<\/h3>\n

Loveland left Week 3 with a hip issue after a quiet start to the year, and the depth-chart reality hasn\u2019t changed\u2014Cole Kmet<\/strong> remains the Bears\u2019 TE1 in routes and design. A secondary tight end with uncertain availability is rarely worth the hold in standard 1-TE, 12-team leagues. In short, unless your format is unusually deep or tight-end-premium, Loveland belongs on waivers while you chase a player with a clearer weekly role.<\/p>\n

Opportunity \/ Role-Related Drops<\/h2>\n
\"Falcons
Dec 16, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. (9) warms up before a game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Michael Penix Jr. \u2014 Atlanta Falcons<\/a> (Rostered ~40%)<\/h3>\n

The trend over three weeks points in one direction. Penix strung together another difficult outing in Week 3 and finished the game on the sideline as Kirk Cousins<\/strong> closed it out. That choice from the staff says plenty about what they need right now: stability. Penix hasn\u2019t offered rushing production to buffer the low passing efficiency, and with a veteran ready to step in whenever game script tightens, the leash is short. In 12-team, 1-QB formats\u2014where viable streamers exist every week\u2014Penix is an expendable roster spot.<\/p>\n

Marvin Mims \u2014 Denver Broncos<\/a> (Rostered ~38%)<\/h3>\n

The breakout never materialized. Through three games Mims has only six receptions<\/strong>, and nothing in his usage suggests a jump is imminent. Routes and snaps have stayed modest, the target share is thin, and there has been little to no red-zone involvement. With other receivers ahead of him in the pecking order, you\u2019re effectively holding a long-odds lottery ticket at the expense of players who can help sooner. In typical 12-team redraft, that\u2019s a cut.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n

September is where contenders separate: the managers who churn the bottom of the roster and act on what the league has already shown gain a weekly edge. James Conner, Najee Harris, Colston Loveland, Michael Penix Jr., and Marvin Mims<\/strong>\u00a0either can\u2019t help you because of injury or don\u2019t have a realistic pathway to short-term relevance based on how they\u2019re being used. Move on now and keep your roster flexible for the next wave of opportunity.<\/p>\n

Main Photo: [Jayne Kamin-Oncea] – Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fantasy Football Cut Candidates: Week 3. Conner, Harris, Loveland, Penix Jr. and Mims are droppable after three weeks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5619,"featured_media":247855,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[32793,2364,9672,32243,7426],"class_list":["post-247811","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fantasy","tag-colston-loveland","tag-james-conner","tag-marvin-mims","tag-michael-penix-jr","tag-najee-harris"],"modified_by":"Michael Zimmelman","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247811","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5619"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=247811"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247811\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":247853,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247811\/revisions\/247853"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/247855"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=247811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=247811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=247811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}