NFL covid-19 disruptions are causing chaos in fantasy football world, too
Want a “fantasy,” Steelers fans? Here’s a fantasy. How about an NFL week without the specter of games being postponed or moved around?
That’s a fantasy in my world.
It’s also a fantasy in most fantasy football leagues. And while the real-life logistics of maneuvering around the covid-19 landmines are far more difficult, a lot of fantasy football players — especially those who are in big stakes formats — are having a tough time as well.
After all, many leagues set themselves up this year for some coronavirus-related flexibility. Just like real life.
Like NFL practice squads, bench spots were expanded after drafts. Specific covid-19 designations were made so that infected players could be stashed. And even “best ball” replacement players were allowed to count after the lineups were set if players were hit with last-minute positive tests.
But one thing that many leagues didn’t prepare for was the uncertainty of entire teams not being able to play. Late-week postponements — like after Thursday night games are completed — and uncertainty up to Monday night kickoffs are playing havoc with lineup decisions for owners.
This isn’t the same as being a responsible team manager who is tracking a player’s injured ankle and making sure he has a good player on the bench ready to go.
Last week, for instance, it was making a decision over whether or not you were going to preemptively bench Patrick Mahomes for Monday night just in case the Kansas City Chiefs game wasn’t played. That way you could at least have a scrub quarterback active on your roster for Sunday.
So for lone roster slot positions — quarterbacks, tight ends, kickers and defenses — things are a mess. Every lineup is a shot in the dark if you’ve got players in a virus middle ground.
It’s been a lot of big-name, fantasy impact players who have fallen into that nebulous category, too. Including any Steeler on your roster. And players like Derrick Henry, Mahomes, Josh Allen, Stefon Diggs, Travis Kelce, etc.
Jeff Erickson of RotoWire joins me for our weekly fantasy sports podcast. He tells us what most leagues are doing to get around such issues.
We also dive into this week’s games that should get played. Tight ends may be a big factor in the Steelers game against the Eagles. The San Francisco 49ers continue to be an X-factor in a lot of lineups because of their injury situations. And we try to figure out if Tom Brady is going to be a fantasy star again Thursday night, as he was last week.
Plus, we talk some baseball, too. Erickson has some interesting postseason baseball leagues. And in the real playoffs, ex-Pirates pitchers are keeping me engrossed in the Tampa Bay Rays-New York Yankees series.
Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via X. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.
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