Welcome to Week 12's edition of The Cut List, RotoBaller's weekly column filled with advice on who is fat to be trimmed from your roster and who deserves a little more time on your plate. Each player receives both statistical and social media analysis, providing both real and ridiculous reasons why we--Tony Peters and Ben Hamren of the All Stats A Salad weekly fantasy football podcast--feel the way we do. The season's chalk full of angst and anxiety, let us take you beyond the stats to tickle your funny bone and your brain.

All ownership rates are taken from Fleaflicker and opponent ranks are based on the last four weeks. Be sure to check our Week 12 (NSFW) episodes of the All Stats A Salad podcast--out every Wednesday and Friday--by clicking here.

Editor's Note: Once you're done here, be sure to read about even more Week 12 waiver wire recommendations, for all fantasy-relevant positions. Just click on any link: ALL - RB - WR - TE - QB - DEF - FAAB

 

Week 12 Players to Consider Cutting or Replacing

Zach Miller (TE, CHI) - 73% Owned & Giovani Bernard (RB, CIN) - 86% Owned

WK11: Doesn't matter
WK9-WK11: Doesn't matter
WK12 Opponent: Surgery and rest

TONY: Yikes stripes, fruit stripe gum. If you own either tight end Zach Miller or running back Giovani Bernard, you came into Sunday with happy and left crying. Miller broke his foot on the final play of the second quarter, ending not only his season but a rather great start to his fantasy day. Giovani Bernard tore his ACL during the Bengals came, an injury that will also cost him the remainder of the season. If you own either of these in single-season leagues, they are both easy cuts in all leagues of all sizes. Unless you like ornamental players, then feel free to decorate your IR list.

All stats a salad...Scrappy Doo now has the time necessary to get his TV grumbles ironed out, so at least his injury isn't without a silver lining. For Miller, I hope he takes some time to think about how he lied to the world when he shared with the world three weeks ago that he was actually a robot. Robots don't break bones, so either he needed to travel back to the future to stop the human resistance or something fishy is afoot.

 

Travis Benjamin (WR, SD) - 63% Owned

WK11: Bye
WK9-WK11: 1-of-1 for five yards
WK12 Opponent: Texans (29th in points allowed to WR)

BEN: Why is wide receiver Travis Benjamin owned so much? He is the epitome of boom-or-bust with a heavy lean towards bust. Add in a season full of nagging injuries and you have yourself nothing but a handful of tears and so much sadness. After the Chargers lost fellow receiver Keenan Allen and pass-catching running back Danny Woodhead, Benjamin should have spent his time taking advantage and breaking out. Yet, here we are. He is bad in real life, he is bad in PPR, he is bad for you. Cut in all formats.

All stats a salad...at least in his downtime, Benjamin knows how to relax and (possibly) plug a product. Either way, he appears to be PS4 man, so props on that. I am more into Battlefield 1 myself, but to each his own. Watch out for that dastardly Kit Harrington!

 

Blake Bortles (QB, JAX) - 71% Owned

WK11: 22-of-35 for 202 yards, two TD, two INT
WK9-WK11: 76-of-125 for 719 yards, six TD, four INT
WK12 Opponent: Bills (second in points allowed to QB)

TONY: In the long-standing league I share with Ben, my man Bobby Bottleservice, aka quarterback Blake Bortles, is the anchor of my team. That has led me right into a 5-6 record and the need to make a change after Week 11 brought with it more shame. The life and times of Bobby are about to go from bad to worse the next three weeks as his next three matchups--the Bills, Broncos and Vikings--all favor the defense. Yes, the Bills were blown up Weeks 8 and 9, but they are ranked 22nd overall in fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks. He's a drop in all 10-team leagues and any other non-two-quarterback league if you have access to better options.

All stats a salad...Bortles has been throwing some of the most ridiculous and hilarious interceptions this season, and Week 11 was no different. Check out this gif of wide receiver Marqise Lee booting a pass right into safety Tavon Wilson's waiting arms. That is the textbook definition of the word "bortles."

 

T.J. Yeldon (RB, JAX) - 55% Owned

WK11: four rushes for 16 yards, 2-of-3 for 16 yards
WK9-WK11: 20 rushes for 81 yards, 10-of-12 for 75 yards, one TD
WK12 Opponent: Bills (13th in points allowed to RB)

BEN: In my new segment, “Everything in Jacksonville Sucks,” we have a returning guest: T.J. Yeldon. Is there promise in this young man? I hope so. But there is no promise for the Jaguars, a team who now has two kick-induced interceptions. Two! Yeldon did not impress in the absence of starter Chris Ivory and I can't see a single reason that shows a time share helping pick up his sagging production. He's an easy cut in 10-and-12-team leagues unless you enjoy punishment or are playing in a league using golf rules. Oh, and he may have hurt his ankle.

All stats a salad...while Yeldon uses social media for Yellfy and Alabama updates exclusively, let's look at a time earlier in the season before the full scope of poop that is the Jaguars season really took hold. Back when there was promise.

 

Hot Seat - Sending Warning Signals

Matthew Stafford (QB, DET) - 87% Owned

WK11: 24-of-33 for 278 yards, zero TD, zero INT
WK9-WK11: 74-of-110 for 727 yards, three TD, one INT
WK12: Vikings (23th in points allowed to QB)

BEN: A man in consideration for the first half's MVP, quarterback Matthew Stafford has entered the second half with a whisper. The division-leading Lions are in command of first place like the Packers of the last few years, in large part because everyone else in the division is awful. I mean, they beat Jacksonville thanks to tight end Eric Ebron finding the endzone via the run game. Yup, their tight end rushed for a touchdown. A tough Minnesota matchup in Week 12 is followed by a Week 13 against an improving Saints' pass defense before the lowly Bears come to town. The grass will eventually turn green for Stafford, but he better watch himself and give the governor a harrumph.

All stats a salad...it's good to see Stafford continue his war against sliding. "Former baseball player" Russell Wilson is also carrying the torch on this particular crusade. If he goes down so do the Lions. So keep it up, Stafford! If that's not enough Stafford slide silliness for you, here is a bonus montage. And here's another. Oh, and another!

 

Stash and Pray

A.J. Green (WR, CIN) - 100% Owned

WK11: 0-of-1 for zero yards, zero TD
WK9-WK11: 7-of-12 for 68 yards, one TD
WK12 Opponent: his bed at his house

TONY: Wide receiver A.J. Green, the owner of an injured hamstring, was originally up with teammate Bernard helping to open up this week's column. But with word coming out that his injury wasn't as bad as expected and he'll be able to return before the season ends, he's been downgraded to Stash and Pray. Which is absolutely all this is as I would be willing to bet a shiny penny right here and now that he doesn't see the field again in any meaningful way this season. If you are the Bengals, a team that is currently 3-6-1, what good does Green do coming back to finish out meaningless games and potentially re-aggravate the injury? Regardless of the league size, stash him if you can but don't lose sleep if you can't for he can't help your championship push if you don't make the playoffs.

All stats a salad...while this isn't the list a player of Green's caliber should end up on, he almost ended up on a list of a completely different kind. Green may have tried too hard to squeeze in multiple plugs into this tweet from this past summer. Tide plug comes in for the last-second contextual save!

 

Kelvin Benjamin (WR, CAR) - 98% Owned

WK11: 3-of-4 for 56 yards, zero TD
WK9-WK11: 10-of-16 for 140 yards, zero TD
WK12: Raiders (24th in points allowed to WR)

BEN: More receivers! With A.J. Green going down, the elite wide receiver pool takes another hit. Kelvin Benjamin being mediocre this season has also left a dent in that sweet, sweet wide receiver goodness. After finding the end zone nine times in 2014, he's only scored four times this year, none since Week 4. With the season all but over, maybe the Panthers rear up and strike out to show that their early season blunders were a fluke and they'll be back on top next year. Whatever this team does do going forward, it needs to not leave this guy hungry as much as they do.

All stats a salad...this bike is amazing! It has my name on it and I want it. I don't know if I have ever seen a better use of athlete money in my life. I don't even care about the car behind it. Gimme that bike!

 

Cameron Meredith (WR, CHI) - 57% Owned

WK11: 4-of-4 for 49 yards, zero TD
WK9-WK11: 5-of-6 for 99 yards, one TD (includes bye)
WK12 Opponent: Titans (seventh in points allowed to WR)

TONY: In his first week as the lead wide receiver, Cameron Meredith put up only slightly better results than the past few weeks, but still looked as hopeless as a fantasy asset. Simply put, without quarterback Brian Hoyer, Meredith hasn't been worth the roster spot he's held on many a fantasy team. But with Miller done for the season and suspended wide receiver Alshon Jeffery still three weeks from returning, who else does quarterback Jay Cutler have to throw at? Eddie Royal and his bum toe? Bill Bellamy and Marquess Mark? If the chemistry is built, the production will come. Stash him in any-sized league you need a wide receiver in, just do not start him unless it is an emergency, even with this tasty matchup.

All stats a salad...not only has Meredith been overshadowed on the field, he's overshadowed in media events. Unless that actually is Meredith and he's showing off the movie magic that will be used in the yet-to-be-asked-for sequel to the movie no one asked for to begin with, White Chicks.

Check out RotoBaller's famous fantasy football draft sleepers and waiver wire pickups list, updated regularly!