If you’ve stashed Sidney Rice away on your bench waiting for his triumphant return to fantasy football studliness, it’s time to drop him. Let him go. Let someone else burn that candle, sacrificing a roster spot for almost the entire season in hopes that he will return to dominance for their playoff push.
You need reasons? Oh, I got reasons.
1. Brett Favre is a broken man.
In case you haven’t heard, Brett Favre is not 100 percent. He’s hurt. He’s old. He’s got just a little bit left in the tank, and unfortunately, that little bit isn’t getting it done for the Vikings. Even with Randy Moss, he’s not that excited about life. Do you really want to trust Favre to make Sidney Rice valuable enough to hold on to for almost an entire season of no production? Favre could start the retirement talk by Week 8.
2. The Vikings don’t look good.
Last season, Rice was dominant because the Vikings were great. Percy Harvin was available to distract the secondary. Visanthe Shiancoe was making plays across the middle and down the field. And then there’s that little known workhorse named Adrian Peterson there to churn out yardage. Even Chester Taylor contributed by protecting Favre as well as any back in the game could. This year, they’re not looking so hot. The offense is struggling, Favre isn’t performing as expected, and Percy Harvin is on and off the field with migraines. Without all those playmakers at 100 percent, can Sidney Rice get anything done? Look at Calvin Johnson. Sometimes he’s excellent…and sometimes he’s non-existent. You need a supporting cast.
3. Randy Moss
But wait…Sidney Rice has a supporting cast. He’s going to share the field with Randy Moss. Well, about that…Randy Moss will get his. I don’t know that Sidney Rice will have enough leftover for his fantasy owners. As the veteran, well established in the offense by the time Rice takes the field, Moss will remain the No. 1 guy. Being in the mix with Harvin and Shiancoe, Rice could end up being the No. 3 or 4 target in this offense when he is healthy. And just trading for Moss in the first place might be a hint that Rice’s recovery isn’t on schedule for a Week 9 return.
4. Week 10
A roster spot is a terrible thing to waste. Even if Rice returns in Week 9, stashing him for an entire season is going to cost you waiver wire pickups. It’s going to cost you bye week adjustments. And it’s going to cost you wins. Is he worth it? If the Vikings don’t make a lot of progress over the next few weeks, Brad Childress could decide to put Rice on IR and shut Rice down for the rest of the season to rest up for 2011. That would free up a roster spot for the Vikings to work with until the end of the year and make your Sidney Rice stash worthless.
5. Packers, Redskins, Bills, Giants, Bears, Eagles (Lions W17)
That’s the schedule the Vikings face after Week 10. So if you’re saving Sidney Rice, you’re saving him for these matchups. Sure, the Redskins and Bills might look good on paper. The Giants and Packers have the potential to be shootouts, but none of these games are pushovers. Even the Bills have a decent secondary — enough to give a team like the Vikings trouble unless they’re firing on all cylinders. Week 16 vs. the Eagles is no game to hang a championship on either. If the Eagles get their defense back in shape, they’ll be coming after Favre all day.
So it’s time, my friend. Time to let him go. Maybe you can trade him to the highest bidder for a quality backup wide receiver. Don’t let his value go to waste if you don’t have to, but please don’t keep him on your bench if you need that roster spot. It won’t do you much good.
I’m not entirely unbiased, but I think that if you have held Rice all season (like I have), then you’ve got to wait at least 1-2 more weeks. Moss just got to Minny — shouldn’t we wait and see what things look like? A lot of the factors described above COULD change in the next couple of weeks. If Favre still looks old and broken and the Vikings keep struggling even with Moss, then yeah, okay, maybe it’s time to cut bait on Rice. But right now, BEFORE we see what effect (if any) the Moss acquistion has, seems like the WORST time to cut Rice. If you’re holding him right now, you really should keep holding him for at least another week.
I wouldn’t drop him if there aren’t any better options on the waiver wire, but if you’re making sacrifices elsewhere to keep Rice on your roster, you need to go ahead and let him go. We saw Favre-to-Moss in action last night, and while they both still seem a little rusty together as Moss is learning the offense, we can already see that Moss will be the No. 1 guy from here on out.
When Rice returns, even if the Vikings are lighting it up in Week 10, Rice will be the No. 2 guy, and that’s assuming he can get back to full health and back on the field to contribute. With Percy Harvin benefiting from Moss’ presence as well, that’s a lot of mouths to feed.
Considering the opponents they’ll face, the presence of Adrian Peterson, and Favre’s continued struggles, I just don’t see how Rice is valuable enough to hold a roster spot for 5 more weeks. Trade him to someone else who sees him as a great investment, and pick up someone who can contribute right away. That’s the only way to get the value you wanted when you drafted Rice.