The Cut List - Time to Let Go? Who to Drop for Fantasy Football Week 3

September 17, 2025

Rob's fantasy football players to drop when making waiver wire moves for Week 3 (2025). He helps fantasy football managers decide on who to cut from rosters.

Welcome back to the Cut List for Week 3 of the 2025 fantasy football season. When it comes to the waiver wire and who we cut, we want to be bold, but not too reactionary. It's a fine line to walk. If we ignore concerning data points, we end up holding onto players too long and missing the opportunity to add intriguing new ones. Cutting bait too early, however, can be just as frustrating.

So, we want to be aggressive, but not crazy. We want to be willing to make big moves, while also being patient. The key is figuring out when to push each button. This article breaks down which players you should consider cutting in your typical 12-team league.

Be sure to also check out my Week 3 waiver wire pickups article - because with almost every cut, there's a new addition we welcome to our team.

Quarterbacks to Consider Cutting

J.J. McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings - 66.3%

In bigger leagues, such as 14+ teams or superflex leagues, McCarthy is a hold. Outside of that, however, he can be let go. He’s played seven terrible quarters of football and one good one. I expect McCarthy to play better football as the season rolls along, but he’s not someone fantasy managers can trust in their starting lineups right now.

Through the first three-quarters of Week 1, McCarthy had scored 3.34 points before exploding for 18.88 in the final quarter. This past weekend, he scored 2.82 points total. He’s played seven quarters of football and scored 6.16 fantasy points.

#Vikings QB JJ McCarthy suffered a high-ankle sprain and is considered week-to-week, per me and @TomPelissero.

Carson Wentz is expected to start this week and the team will continue to evaluate McCarthy. pic.twitter.com/iwmPYpYeWF

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 15, 2025

Guys like Jared Goff, Trevor Lawrence, Geno Smith, Bryce Young, Daniel Jones, and Michael Penix Jr. are all more trustworthy right now and are rostered at lower rates than McCarthy. Reports from yesterday also indicated that McCarthy will miss the next 2-4 weeks with a high ankle sprain. There's no reason you have to hold him until he gets back, especially if you can't place him on your IR.

Running Backs to Consider Cutting

Kaleb Johnson, Pittsburgh Steelers - 67.4% Rostered

Johnson played two snaps in Week 1. He played two snaps again in Week 2. Through two weeks, he has not recorded a target. He has two carries for -1 yards rushing. In 12-team leagues, it can be difficult to cut a mid-round pick before Week 3, especially one who is a rookie drafted in the third round of the NFL Draft, but Johnson is just so far away from fantasy relevance.

Oh no. #Steelers rookie RB Kaleb Johnson appeared unaware of the new kickoff rules — and the #Seahawks took full advantage.

Result: an absolute gift of a TD.pic.twitter.com/fePBAHKjnf

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 14, 2025

There was hope that Johnson could eventually take control of this backfield, but through two weeks outside of an injury (or two), this feels like a pipe dream. Plays like the one above certainly will not help the cause. It’s not uncommon for rookies to start slow, but the path to fantasy relevance appears very narrow in Pittsburgh right now.

Dylan Sampson, Cleveland Browns - 66.5% Rostered

Like Johnson, it may be tough to cut bait on Sampson, a fourth-round rookie after just two weeks, especially after having eight catches for 64 receiving yards in Week 1 and finding the end zone in Week 2. I won’t fault anyone for wanting to hold a bit longer.

However, in Week 1, Sampson played behind Jerome Ford in terms of snaps and routes run. This past week, Sampson was third on the team in snaps.

He finished with seven touches for just 19 yards and was lucky to have scored a garbage-time touchdown. Through two weeks now, Sampson has 35 rushing yards on 16 carries, a 2.18 yards per carry average. Quinshon Judkins returned to the lineup and immediately had 10 carries, tied for the same number of carries Ford and Sampson combined to have.

Wide Receivers to Consider Cutting

Xavier Legette, Carolina Panthers - 47.2% Rostered

Through two weeks, Legette had eight total receiving yards on 15 targets. That is 0.53 yards per target. Last weekend, Legette finished with -2 receiving yards on eight targets. Of the 15 targets he’s seen, he’s only caught four. Tetairoa McMillan and Hunter Renfrow are clearly ahead of him on the target hierarchy in Carolina, and they've been significantly more efficient.

Tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders has also shown better chemistry with Young. Between Legette’s abysmal play, his status as being no better than a third or fourth option in the passing game, and the up-and-down of Carolina’s Legette, he is an easy cut candidate.

Adam Thielen, Minnesota Vikings - 33.9% Rostered

After he was traded back to the Vikings before Week 1 and following Jordan Addison’s three-game suspension, there was hope he could be a decent fill-in starter for a few weeks to kick off the season. That hasn’t been remotely the case. Through two weeks, Thielen has four targets, two receptions, and 26 yards. He did catch a two-point conversion in Week 1.

McCarthy has not looked very good to start the season, and the Vikings are now expected to turn to Carson Wentz. With the way this passing game is operating, there’s no way this offense can attempt to support two fantasy-relevant pass-catchers, much less two. There’s still T.J. Hockenson, and now Addison is back in just one more game. That makes Thielen an easy player to move on from.

Tight Ends to Consider Cutting

Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens - 91.9% Rostered

Andrews started very slowly last year, too, before exploding down the stretch largely because he kept catching touchdowns. His 2024 touchdown rate made him an obvious regression candidate. There was some optimism based on how Andrews finished the season, and with Isaiah Likely (foot) on IR, that Andrews could have a hot start. That has been a massive swing and miss.

Despite Likely on IR, Andrews' utilization has been disappointing. His route share is hovering around 70%, a number we'd prefer to see around 75-80%, and with Likely out, 85% seemed plausible at the beginning of the season. Not anymore. Through two weeks, he has an 8.3% target share and a 10.0% target rate. He has four targets, two receptions, and seven yards through two games.

Given just how unproductive he's been to start the season and Likely's impending return, Andrews is someone fantasy managers can consider cutting.

Evan Engram, Denver Broncos - 87.3% Rostered

It's hard to imagine Engram's season starting any worse than it has through two weeks. In Week 2, Engram ran a route on 43.8% of the team's dropbacks. He had a 6.7% target share and a 14.0% target rate. He seems to be a complete afterthought in this offense right now. Through two games, Engram has six targets, four receptions, and 33 yards. He's averaging a lowly 1.27 yards per route run.

Engram is tied for fourth in targets this season. Backup tight end Adam Trautman has the same number of targets as Engram does. It may be difficult to cut ties with Engram already, after the hopes of him being a top-10 tight end, but his utilization doesn't even project as a mid-TE2. Right now, Engram isn't even on the streaming radar, which means he doesn't need to be anywhere near our fantasy lineups.

Colston Loveland, Chicago Bears - 69.3% Rostered

Fantasy managers are holding Loveland because he's a rookie and due to his status as an elite prospect. That's justifiable, but it's different for tight ends than receivers and running backs, especially on this Chicago offense. Cole Kmet, while fantasy managers are likely quick to dismiss him, is still a solid, all-around veteran tight end.

Through two weeks, Kmet's route share is at 69.9%. Loveland's is at 45.8%. This ranks sixth on the team.

Loveland only has three targets. That's the same number as backup running back and seventh-round rookie Kyle Monangai has. Loveland's target rate (8.0%) is actually lower than Monangai's (15.0%). They both have a 4.4% target share. Competing with Rome Odunze, D.J. Moore, D'Andre Swift, and Kmet for targets while Caleb Williams is struggling under center eliminates any pathway to fantasy relevance for Loveland.

Players Trending Down

A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith - Philadelphia Eagles - 99.9% and 93.7% Rostered, Respectively

No non-injured player has lost more fantasy value in the first two weeks of the season than Brown. He was being drafted as a top-10 receiver, and through two weeks, he looks more like a boom-or-bust WR2/3. It has been that bad. Through two weeks, Jalen Hurts has yet to throw for 155 yards in a game. He has yet to throw a touchdown. Brown has yet to record 30 receiving yards in a game this season.

The Eagles formation majorly tips off the plays they will run. Yesterday:
11 plays from pistol and 1 of them was a pass
14 plays from under center and 0 of them were passes
33 plays from shotgun and 26 of them were passes

There were 25 combined plays from pistol or under center.…

— Shane Haff (@ShaneHaffNFL) September 15, 2025

Brown and Smith have combined for 18 targets, 13 receptions, and 104 yards through two games. This offense is predictable. It's boring. It's static. There's little pre-snap motion. There's minimal use of play-action. Their formations, as noted in the post above, are giving obvious cues as to what the offense is going to do. The loss of offensive coordinator Kellen Moore looms very large through two weeks.

The Eagles pass game was—too often—predictable—in direct correlation to AJ Brown

10X the same route from really the same alignment. pic.twitter.com/qxA63oFNmL

— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) September 15, 2025

It's not just the inefficiency of the passing game, although that is a massive component; it's the volume, too. Through two weeks, Hurts has just 45 pass attempts. Last year, he averaged just 24.1 pass attempts per game. It was a number fantasy managers thought would undoubtedly increase. Through two weeks, it's decreased, down to 22.5. Everything about this passing game looks broken right now.

Last year, Hurts averaged 7.8 intended air yards per attempt. In 2023, it was 8.7. In 2022, it was 8.1. From 2020 to 2021, that number was at 9.0. This year, it's at 6.0. There is no downfield passing attack. It's a dump-off, a five-yard slant, or a five-yard out route.

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