Last week was the beginning of the end: The end of some managers in various fantasy leagues. A bad record there (and better records elsewhere) leads to apathy and negligence, and an early sign is when they leave injured players in their lineup.
Now the evidence will be more obvious: Bye weeks will show you which teams have absent managers.
Week 5 was a good way to notice leaving players on the bye because there were enough fantasy starters (like Hubbard and McMillan from Carolina, and Mahomes, Walker and Rice from Kansas City) to identify abandoned teams. But with just those two teams on the bye, those potential zeroes in the lineup probably didn't create too much disparity in your league, and you can address it before it becomes a bigger problem when more teams have the week off.
There were injuries, too: DJ Moore and Lamar Jackson were hurt in week 4 and missed week 5. Neither looked particularly likely to play, so if they stayed in lineups, it's a bad sign. And if the injured guys from the previous week stayed in lineups that's a bigger red flag. Or is it a redder flag? Either way, it's bad and your league needs to address it.
But before you do, don't lump in the casual managers with the bad apples. Some guys weren't sure to play but ended up on the field. Terry McLaurin ended up playing through his hamstring injury, but if he stayed on the bench that isn't a sign that the manager isn't active. Maybe they didn't want to keep up with hour-by-hour updates on Sunday morning, or maybe they just didn't want to risk an in-game hamstring aggravation, which would lead to significant manager aggravation. Leaving an active player on the bench is very different than starting an inactive one.
The evidence is even clearer from this past weekend. Even if they argued an injury was a surprise to them, the bye week wasn't. Everybody knew it was coming. It was posted when the schedules came out, it was listed in the Fantasy Index magazine and your league's website likely predicted a big, fat zero for that week's production. There's no excuse for leaving a bye week player in a lineup.
Well, almost no excuse. Sometimes life happens. An unexpected trip to an emergency room is a good way to forget about bye weeks. Cruise ships don't have great Wi-Fi, and maybe they forgot to update their team before their vacation. It's possible that an unusual, once-a-year event occurred in week 5 and they're still an active manager.
But now's the time to find out. I understand that some leagues fine managers who don't submit a valid lineup, and that might be a great deterrent. But if you have a team in your league that isn't actively managed, handle the situation before week 6. If that manager promises to stay active going forward, I say give them a chance. But if they've checked out, it's time to take over. Artificial Intelligence can certainly run a team until you find a replacement. Or let it run the team all year. If AI is going to take over everything, might as well let it play in your league to keep it happy. We don’t want it to get angry.
The point is, if there's an absent manager you can't let them ruin your league. Later in the season teams battling for a playoff spot might face a tough opponent in a must-win matchup, while another team faces half a roster. That's not fair. An annoyance in week 5 can affect the postseason push in week 13. Don't let that happen. Look at which managers left injured and bye players in lineups and follow up. A fine might not be enough.
And if you don't have any managers like that, congratulations. You're in a solid league, for now. Just keep it in mind as the weeks pass. A manager in your league might have one foot out the door, and we want to be there if/when it happens. Good luck this week.
Have you ever left a player in the lineup during a bye? What's the best excuse you've heard from an active manager for not setting a valid lineup? Have you ever kicked a manager out of a league for inactivity? Share your thoughts below. .
