The Cut List - Time to Let Go? Who to Drop for Fantasy Football Week 4

September 24, 2025

Rob's fantasy football players to drop when making waiver wire moves for Week 4 (2025). He helps fantasy football managers decide on who to cut from rosters.

Welcome back to the Cut List for Week 4 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 waiver wire article for Week 4, because with almost every cut, there's a new addition we welcome to our team.

Quarterbacks to Consider Cutting

C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans - 56.5% Rostered

Where is the dude from 2023? Stroud's rookie season feels like ages ago, if you even believe it happened at all. Stroud has yet to score 15 points in any game this season. He's been held to below 12 points in two out of three contests. Dating back to Week 7 of last year (14 total games), he's scored over 15 points in just two of them.

He's also scored under 15 points in five straight games.

His Week 4 matchup against the Titans is somewhat appealing, and getting Christian Kirk back into the fold should, at least in theory, help, but it's impossible to trust him. After Week 5, he has Baltimore and then his bye. He hasn't thrown for over 250 yards since Week 11 of 2024. Since Week 7 of last season, he has just three games with double-digit touchdowns. He doesn't use his legs at all, either. He's an easy cut.

Running Backs to Consider Cutting

Dylan Sampson, Cleveland Browns - 50.7% Rostered

Quinshon Judkins began the takeover of this backfield in Week 2, but he put an exclamation point on it this past weekend. Judkins logged 36 snaps. Jerome Ford played 24, and Sampson played just five. Judkins handled 18 of the 19 team running back carries. Sampson isn't even a change-of-pace back right now.

Quinshon Judkins "Explosive," Team Preparing Him for Heavier Workload? https://t.co/71OW2m4XDA

— RotoBaller NFL (@RotoBallerNFL) September 19, 2025

Ford is the running back they're using on pass protection and passing downs.

Some may argue that Sampson holds some handcuff value if Judkins gets hurt or is suspended at some point this season, but this offense isn't good enough to justify holding onto Sampson for that unknown. We had already seen him in the lead role, and it wasn't anything special. Fantasy managers can safely cut ties with him.

Wide Receivers to Consider Cutting

Stefon Diggs, New England Patriots - 84.0% Rostered

Diggs may be a surprise addition, but I think we need to be honest about his role in New England and his effectiveness for a player his age, coming off the injury he had last year. His route share is at just 56.2% for the season, and it's actually decreased each week.

Most fantasy managers thought after Week 1 that they were easing him into action and that his role would increase. Instead, it's gone the other way.

Cutting Diggs comes with little risk. Given the New England passing offense, and for a player of Diggs' age, the best-case scenario for Diggs always seemed to be mid-WR3. If there's someone appealing on my waiver wire, I'm okay cutting Diggs loose. You certainly don't have to, and your league's waiver wire will dictate if it's a good idea, but Diggs hasn't looked like himself at all.

Marquise Brown, Kansas City Chiefs - 70.9% Rostered

Much like Diggs, Brown isn't a must-cut, and cutting him will depend on who is on the waiver wire, but Brown has been extremely disappointing since Xavier Worthy's injury. He has had 11 targets in the past two weeks and just 72 yards. He has not scored 7.0 half-PPR points in either of the last two weeks.

Worthy has been practicing in recent weeks, and his return seems like it'll be sooner rather than later.

Brown has been unable to separate himself from JuJu Smith-Schuster and Tyquan Thornton, which is not a positive sign for Brown's future fantasy prospects. Brown, at his best, seems like nothing more than a mid-WR3. With the other receivers trending up and Worthy's return likely coming soon, there's little incentive to hold onto Brown.

Tight Ends to Consider Cutting

Jonnu Smith, Pittsburgh Steelers - 40.3% Rostered

Evan Engram and Colston Loveland were here last week, and nothing has changed in their respective situations to make me move off of it. Loveland's injury is something to watch, and it could make him someone to consider later in the week; however, reports indicate that his injury is not serious. To avoid any back-to-back repeats, we'll go with Jonnu Smith here.

Smith has yet to finish with 30 yards in any game this season. Aaron Rodgers no longer throws the ball downfield, and he's nerfed even D.K. Metcalf in this regard. For Smith to break 50 yards at the pace he's at right now with Pittsburgh, he'll need 10 catches. That's not a typo. He's averaged just over 5.4 yards per catch.

He's touchdown or bust, but with his yardage total, a touchdown doesn't even mean he's scoring 10 points. In fact, he scored a touchdown in Week 1 and finished with 10.0 half-PPR points.

Hold On

Chase Brown, Cincinnati Bengals - 99.3% Rostered

This past weekend was ugly. Jake Browning struggled mightily, but I wouldn't freak out too much. This was his first start of the season against an upset Minnesota defense coached by madman, Brian Flores. Cincinnati has a tough stretch here against Denver, Detroit, and Green Bay, but then the schedule opens up quite a bit.

He then gets the Steelers, the Jets, the Bears, the Steelers again, and the Patriots. That's five straight plus-matchups.

Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins will help keep this offense afloat. Browning showed he was a capable quarterback in 2023 when Joe Burrow missed time. Brown is still handling an elite percentage of the backfield work in Cincinnati. He might be someone to consider benching these next few weeks against three tough games, but after that, Brown should return RB2 value.

He won't be what you thought he was going to be, but he should hold fantasy value after this tough stretch.

On The Hot Seat

Tyrone Tracy Jr., New York Giants - 82.6% Rostered

If you wanted to cut Tracy, I wouldn't fault you. Cam Skattebo has all but taken over this backfield. Tracy suffered a dislocated shoulder, and this is expected to cause him to miss a few games. The Skattebo takeover was happening even before Tracy got hurt. This injury only solidified it.

Tyrone Tracy Jr. to Miss Time With Dislocated Shoulderhttps://t.co/6TbdTF6lnE

— RotoBaller NFL (@RotoBallerNFL) September 22, 2025

By the time Tracy returns, he's unlikely to be anything more than a third-down back for the Giants. I'd expect Skattebo to handle the early-down work and the goal-line work. Skattebo was a very effective pass-catcher in college, so there's no guarantee Tracy even hangs onto the passing work. While Tracy may hold value as a handcuff, the upside to being a handcuff in this New York Giants' offense may not be good enough to use a roster spot.

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