Your Bye-Week Planner for Weeks 8 to 14
Week 11 is the toughest bye week left, with six teams and 14 of our model's starters off. Here's who each bye week takes out of your lineup, plus the players whose bye is already done.
The bye weeks are about to pile up. The Bills, Jaguars, Chargers and Commanders are off this week, and 22 more teams take their week off between Week 8 and Week 14. Some of those weeks will barely touch your lineup. Week 11 is the one to plan for.
Everything here is half PPR for a 12-team league, from Wednesday morning's update. The bye weeks come from the nflverse schedule. When we say "starter," we mean a top-12 quarterback or tight end, or a top-24 running back or receiver, in our rest-of-season rankings.
Every Bye Week Left
| Week | Teams off | Our starters off |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | 49ers, Giants, Saints, Texans | 10 |
| 9 | Steelers, Titans | 2 |
| 10 | Bears, Broncos, Buccaneers, Eagles | 9 |
| 11 | Browns, Falcons, Packers, Patriots, Rams, Seahawks | 14 |
| 12 | None | 0 |
| 13 | Colts, Jets, Raiders, Ravens | 8 |
| 14 | Cardinals, Cowboys | 7 |
Nobody has a bye from Week 15 on, so you won't have to work around one in your fantasy playoffs.
Week 11 Is the Big One
Six teams are off that week, and 14 of our starters go with them.
| Player | Team | Rest of season |
|---|---|---|
| Matthew Stafford | Rams | QB1 |
| Drake Maye | Patriots | QB7 |
| Jordan Love | Packers | QB12 |
| Bijan Robinson | Falcons | RB2 |
| Kyren Williams | Rams | RB5 |
| Quinshon Judkins | Browns | RB17 |
| Josh Jacobs | Packers | RB23 |
| Puka Nacua | Rams | WR1 |
| Jaxon Smith-Njigba | Seahawks | WR2 |
| Drake London | Falcons | WR8 |
| Christian Watson | Packers | WR16 |
| Matthew Golden | Packers | WR17 |
| Harold Fannin Jr. | Browns | TE8 |
| Tucker Kraft | Packers | TE9 |
The Rams are the biggest problem. Stafford is our QB1 and Nacua is our WR1, and they sit the same week as Kyren Williams. The Packers have five of our starters on this bye, more than any other team.
If you count three or more of your starters in that table, start planning now. You don't need a star to get through one week. A flex-level player from a team that plays in Week 11 will do. If you wait until the week before, you're shopping on waivers at the same time as every other manager with the same hole.
Week 8 Is Next Week
Ten of our starters are off in Week 8, and the 49ers have four of them: Brock Purdy (QB6), Christian McCaffrey (RB7), Mike Evans (WR20) and George Kittle (TE4). The Giants are without Malik Nabers (WR6), Cam Skattebo (RB20) and Isaiah Likely (TE5). From the Saints, Tyler Shough (QB10), Chris Olave (WR7) and Juwan Johnson (TE11) sit too. The Texans don't have anyone on our starter list.
Tight end is where this one hurts. Kittle and Likely are two of our top five. If you start either, find your Week 8 tight end now.
Week 10, Week 13 and Week 14
Week 10 takes nine of our starters. The running backs are the problem here: Bucky Irving (RB13), D'Andre Swift (RB14) and Saquon Barkley (RB18) are all off. So are Caleb Williams (QB8), DeVonta Smith (WR21), Emeka Egbuka (WR22), Luther Burden III (WR24), Dallas Goedert (TE10) and Colston Loveland (TE12).
Week 13 hits running backs as hard as Week 11 does. Jonathan Taylor (RB4), Ashton Jeanty (RB8), Derrick Henry (RB9) and Breece Hall (RB16) are all off, along with Brock Bowers (TE2), Tyler Warren (TE6), Zay Flowers (WR13) and Garrett Wilson (WR23).
Week 14 has only two teams off, but they're loaded. The Cowboys are without Dak Prescott (QB5), CeeDee Lamb (WR4), George Pickens (WR9) and Javonte Williams (RB12). Arizona sits Trey McBride (TE1), Michael Wilson (WR12) and Jeremiyah Love (RB22).
Week 9 is the easy one. Only Jaylen Warren (RB19) and DK Metcalf (WR14) from the Steelers make our starter list.
Players Whose Bye Is Done
Six teams have already had their week off: the Bengals, Chiefs, Dolphins, Lions, Panthers and Vikings. Their players have 11 games left from this week through Week 17. Everyone else has 10.
Our starters on those teams:
| Position | Players (rest of season) |
|---|---|
| QB | Jared Goff (QB2), Joe Burrow (QB4), Patrick Mahomes (QB9) |
| RB | Jahmyr Gibbs (RB1), Kenneth Walker III (RB3), Chase Brown (RB6), Chuba Hubbard (RB11), Aaron Jones (RB15) |
| WR | Amon-Ra St. Brown (WR3), Ja'Marr Chase (WR5), Justin Jefferson (WR10), Tetairoa McMillan (WR11), Tee Higgins (WR15), Rashee Rice (WR18) |
| TE | Sam LaPorta (TE3), Travis Kelce (TE7) |
Our rest-of-season rankings already account for byes: for each week a player is off, they assume you start a waiver-wire fill-in instead. So when two players look close in a trade, check the bye. The one whose bye is behind him gives you an extra game.
What to Do With This
Go week by week and count how many of your starters are off. Week 8 needs a fix this week if you have Kittle or Likely. Week 11 is the one most likely to need a trade, and you still have a few weeks to make it.
Ranks move every day, so check the live rankings before you make an offer.