The Cut List - Time to Let Go? Who to Drop for Fantasy Football Week 8

October 22, 2025

Rob's fantasy football players to drop when making waiver wire moves for Week 8 (2025). He helps fantasy football managers decide on who to cut from rosters.

We're at the halfway point of the fantasy football season, and fantasy managers are likely eager to get rid of dead weight. Many players have been disappointing this season. Despite their struggles, I'd still encourage you to hang onto players like D.J. Moore, Jameson Williams, and Brian Thomas Jr.. They are full-time starters and have a history of being successful. I'd rather gamble on these players figuring it out than bet on players who have not been successful in the first place.

Holding rookies such as TreVeyon Henderson and Travis Hunter is also often the right play. They were drafted as high as they were in this year's NFL Draft for a reason, and while they may have struggled to this point, their potential is worth stashing. There are likely to be disagreements on these two points, but I'd rather have these five aforementioned players than guys like Troy Franklin and Elic Ayomanor.

This article will identify players who can safely be cut in 12-team leagues. Be sure to also check out my waiver wire article for Week 8, because with almost every cut, there's a new addition we welcome to our team. If you sign up for one of our premium subscriptions, please use the promo code "BOOM" to receive a 10% discount.

Running Backs to Consider Cutting

Kenneth Gainwell, Pittsburgh Steelers - 62.7% Rostered

Gainwell is nothing more than a handcuff at this point, and while that can hold value, there are other handcuffs I'd rather have who are rostered less than Gainwell is. This past weekend, despite playing 22 snaps to Jaylen Warren's 37 and running 15 routes to Warren's 17, this only resulted in five touches and 3.5 half-PPR points.

While the snap share and route share made it appear as though this backfield was a committee, Warren had 20 touches, 15 more than Gainwell. If you're looking to stash a handcuff, Blake Corum and Tyler Allgeier are better options.

Others to Consider Cutting:

• Michael Carter, Arizona Cardinals - 54.3% Rostered
• Joe Mixon, Houston Texans - 50.3% Rostered
• Tyrone Tracy Jr., New York Giants - 44.7% Rostered
• Kaleb Johnson, Pittsburgh Steelers - 27.9% Rostered
• Hassan Haskins, Los Angeles Chargers - 21.1% Rostered

Wide Receivers to Consider Cutting

Jerry Jeudy, Cleveland Browns - 78.4% Rostered

When it comes to cutting "bigger" names who are still full-time starters, they need to be in bad situations. Earlier in this article, I mentioned that when it came to guys like Moore, Thomas, and Williams, I'm still holding them. Why? Because they're still on halfway decent offenses. I understand that Williams and Moore seem to be afterthoughts in their respective offenses, and I'm well aware of Thomas's sophomore struggles.

However, Williams is still plenty capable of big weeks because he's a good player and the Detroit offense is explosive. Thomas is a good player who could go through a funk, but there's no guarantee it'll last the entire season. Moore has a history of being an excellent player on an ascending offense. While none of them are who we thought they would be, they're all more than capable of being a bye-week or injury replacement player.

Is that incredibly disappointing? Absolutely! Would I rather start any one of these players during my bye than some other receiver off the waiver wire? Yes, I would. While we often need to adjust our expectations on many players, that doesn't mean we need to cut them out of spite. That, of course, brings us to Jeudy.

He's been incredibly disappointing, in a similar fashion to the other three receivers mentioned, so why is he a cut? I see no light at the end of the tunnel for him. Dillon Gabriel is not very good. The Cleveland offense is dreadful, and Jeudy has struggled in his own right. Could one of those things change? Yes, but will all three?

That's highly unlikely, and unfortunately, one of them changing won't be enough.

Others to Consider Cutting:

• Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers - 94.4% Rostered

Mike Evans to Miss Most of the Year With Broken Claviclehttps://t.co/98LcxOHR9g

— RotoBaller NFL (@RotoBallerNFL) October 21, 2025

• Calvin Ridley, Tennessee Titans - 73.3% Rostered

Tight Ends to Consider Cutting

Mason Taylor, New York Jets - 28.0%

There was a moment where it looked like Taylor might be a thing. He had 14 catches on 17 targets in Weeks 4-5, but has had just six targets the past two weeks. The Jets are going through a quarterback controversy after benching Justin Fields last week. The alternative, Tyrod Taylor, isn't that much better.

While some fantasy managers may have gotten (incorrectly) excited about Garrett Wilson's injury and what it could mean for Taylor's volume, what it actually did was destroy the entire passing offense. Nothing works without Wilson. Although his injury isn't season-ending, fantasy managers do not need to hang onto Taylor.

Hold

Jakobi Meyers, Las Vegas Raiders - 84.6% Rostered

Meyers has been a colossal disappointment this season. However, that's been true for Ashton Jeanty and Brock Bowers, as well. The common trend among all three players is Geno Smith. He's been awful this season, and he may be on the verge of playing his way out of a starting job. While Kenny Pickett, Las Vegas' backup, shouldn't inspire any confidence, the fact that Meyers is likely to be traded should.

Several names that I’m hearing are drawing interest and calls ahead of the trade deadline:

Raiders WR Jakobi Meyers
Dolphins LB Jaelan Phillips
Jets RB Breece Hall

More: https://t.co/d50PKCIQ3R pic.twitter.com/S7uqszwJ9H

— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) October 18, 2025

With the way the Raiders' season has gone, fantasy managers should expect a trade at some point. Meyers is in the final year of his contract and requested a trade before the season started. The Raiders' front office should want to get something for Meyers. He was a solid WR3 last year, and if he went to the right situation, he could have a resurgent second half of the season.

Keon Coleman, Buffalo Bills - 68.4% Rostered

Coleman has been dreadful ever since Week 1, when he scored 21.1 half-PPR points. Since that game, his weekly high score is 8.3 points. He's been held to fewer than 5.0 half-PPR points three times in his last five games. All of those things should be reasons to consider cutting Coleman, right?

Here's the thing, though, his quarterback is Josh Allen. He's running a route on just under 75% of the team's dropbacks. He has a 26.3% first-read target share. He also has four end zone targets, which is tied for the 13th-most among receivers. It's actually one more than Amon-Ra St. Brown.

Do I want to start Coleman weekly? No, but his role and utilization in a top-10 offense with a top-three quarterback give him a weekly out, and that's enough to continue holding onto him for. With how potent the Buffalo offense is, with how amazing Josh Allen is, with how many end zone targets Coleman is getting, he's a touchdown threat every week.

For a bye week or injury replacement player, that's enough for me.

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