With the news that Shane Vereen will miss the next eight weeks following a wrist injury suffered in Week 1, Fantasy owners have to make the call on either keeping him on the bench or cutting him for someone who will actually play.
Depending on the size of your bench and whether or not you have space specifically for players on IR, the time has come to say goodbye to Vereen.
The earliest Vereen can play again for the Patriots is Week 11. I spoke to people at the NFL who confirmed he is ineligible to practice for six weeks and ineligible to play in a game for eight weeks as per the rules for players placed on short-term Injured Reserve. When Vereen is eligible to come back, the Patriots will be on bye. Hence the 10-game layoff. I can't justify keeping a player on my bench that long unless I have the room.
Running backs I'm aiming for off waivers immediately to replace him include (in order) Joique Bell, Bilal Powell, Isaiah Pead, Knowshon Moreno and then LeGarrette Blount, the backup running back in New England. None of these guys quite have the potential of Vereen but at least they'll play and potentially give me a fix at Flex for a few weeks until a better replacement is found.
Vereen is already off my rosters in 10- and 12-person formats with six bench spots or fewer. However, I have set my mobile device's calendar to remind me to put in a claim for him on October 30, the night before Week 9 kicks off. I won't mind picking him up and waiting for him then.