Week 14 is the final week of the regular season in most Fantasy leagues. That means this could be the most important scoring period of the season for many managers trying to lock up a playoff spot or improve playoff seeding.

We have two teams on a bye in Week 14 with Arizona and Washington but, more importantly, we have a lot of key injuries to monitor, which isn’t ideal. You want to have all your best players available for this important week, and that might not be the case.

In Week 13, we saw several prominent players leave games early, including Derrick Henry (head), Rhamondre Stevenson (ankle), D’Andre Swift (undisclosed), Zach Charbonnet (knee), Brian Robinson Jr. (hamstring), Tank Dell (leg), Christian Kirk (groin), Amari Cooper (concussion), Marquise Brown (heel), Christian Watson (hamstring), Trevor Lawrence (ankle), Derek Carr (concussion), Kenny Pickett (ankle) and Tyler Higbee (neck).

We’ll get into these injuries below, especially with some potential replacement options. And some of the key free agents to add this week are running backs in Tyjae Spears, Ezekiel Elliott, Roschon Johnson and Kenneth Gainwell.

But we also have quarterbacks, wide receivers and tight ends to add as well, along with streaming options at kicker and DST. It’s going to be a busy week on the waiver wire, so get ready to make plenty of free agent moves.

Editor’s note: For this waiver wire column, we are only looking at players rostered in less than 65 percent of CBS Sports leagues.

Week 9 Waivers

• On a bye: Kyler Murray and Sam Howell
• Injuries: Trevor Lawrence (ankle), Derek Carr (concussion), Kenny Pickett (ankle), Tyrod Taylor (ribs) and Dorian Thompson-Robinson (concussion)
• Check to see if available in shallow leagues: Matthew Stafford (80 percent rostered), Geno Smith (75 percent), Baker Mayfield (74 percent) and Joshua Dobbs (74 percent). Stafford has now scored at least 28.9 Fantasy points in consecutive games against Arizona and Cleveland, and he’s getting hot at the right time. It’s tough to trust him in Week 14 at Baltimore, but he gets Washington in Week 15, which is a dream matchup. … Smith is coming off his best game of the season in Week 13 at Dallas with 35.9 Fantasy points. You shouldn’t start him in Week 14 at San Francisco, but he gets Philadelphia in Week 15 and Tennessee in Week 16, which are favorable opponents. … Mayfield has scored 17.3 Fantasy points or less in three games in a row, but he gets Atlanta in Week 14 and Jacksonville in Week 16 if you want to use him as a streamer in those matchups. … Dobbs might have lost his job going into Minnesota’s bye in Week 13 after his dud against Chicago in Week 12 when he threw four interceptions. But if he remains the starter for the Vikings then he’s getting Justin Jefferson (hamstring) back with upcoming matchups against the Raiders, Bengals and Lions. He could be exceptional to close the Fantasy season.
• Drop candidates: Drop candidate: Derek Carr (79 percent rostered) and Kenny Pickett (59 percent). Carr isn’t expected to play in Week 14 against Carolina due to a concussion and injured ribs, and there’s no reason to roster him in one-quarterback leagues if he’s out. … Pickett underwent a surgical procedure on his high-ankle sprain Monday morning “in an effort to accelerate the healing process,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. He’s expected to miss multiple weeks after suffering the injury in Week 13 against the Cardinals, and you can likely drop him in all formats.

Add in this order:

• On a bye: James Conner, Brian Robinson Jr. and Antonio Gibson
• Injuries: Injuries: Brian Robinson Jr. (hamstring), D’Andre Swift (undisclosed), Derrick Henry (head), Rhamondre Stevenson (ankle), Jonathan Taylor (thumb), Aaron Jones (knee), Kenneth Walker III (oblique), Zach Charbonnet (knee), D’Onta Foreman (ankle) and Jerick McKinnon (groin)
• Check to see if available in shallow leagues: Check to see if available in shallow leagues: Dameon Pierce (76 percent rostered) and Antonio Gibson (66 percent). Pierce still played fewer snaps than Devin Singletary in Week 13 against Denver (31-26), but Pierce had more touches than Singletary (15-9) and was also given work at the goal line. I still don’t trust Pierce, but you might want to stash him on your bench. … We’ll see what happens with Brian Robinson Jr. (hamstring) after Washington’s bye in Week 14, but it’s worth adding and stashing Gibson where available in case Robinson is forced to miss any time. Gibson scored 11.2 PPR points in three of his past four games and has 22 catches on 25 targets in his past five outings.
• Drop candidates: Rhamondre Stevenson (99 percent rostered), Miles Sanders (61 percent), D’Onta Foreman (59 percent) and Jeff Wilson (43 percent). ESPN reported Tuesday that Stevenson could miss “a few weeks” with a high-ankle sprain, so you can probably drop him in most redraft leagues. … Sanders watched as Hubbard dominated touches at Tampa Bay in Week 13 (25-9) in the first game after Frank Reich was fired, which is a terrible sign moving forward. Sanders has been one of the biggest busts of the season, and there’s little reason to roster him in most leagues. … We’ll see if Foreman (ankle) returns to action in Week 14 coming off Chicago’s bye, but he could be third on the depth chart when healthy behind Roschon Johnson and Khalil Herbert. I don’t expect Foreman to return to a prominent role after how Johnson played in Week 12 at Minnesota with Foreman out. … Wilson is clearly No. 3 on the Dolphins depth chart at best. He only had four total touches in Week 13 at Washington with De’Von Achane back alongside Raheem Mostert. You can drop Wilson in all leagues.

Add in this order:

• On a bye: Terry McLaurin, Curtis Samuel, Jahan Dotson, Marquise Brown, Michael Wilson, Rondale Moore and Greg Dortch
• Injuries: Justin Jefferson (hamstring), Tank Dell (leg), Puka Nacua (shoulder), Christian Kirk (groin), Amari Cooper (concussion), Marquise Brown (heel), Christian Watson (hamstring), Rashid Shaheed (quadriceps), Michael Thomas (knee), Demario Douglas (head), Josh Palmer (knee) and Michael Wilson (shoulder)
• Check to see if available in shallow leagues: Romeo Doubs (79 percent rostered), Jayden Reed (75 percent), Noah Brown (74 percent) and Jaxon Smith-Njigba (71 percent). The Packers could be without Christian Watson (hamstring) in Week 14 at the Giants, which should allow more chances for Doubs and Reed to succeed. You also might consider adding Dontayvion Wicks (2 percent rostered) as well in deeper leagues. Doubs has scored at least 11.2 PPR points in three of his past four games, and Reed has scored at least 15 PPR points in three of his past four outings. Even if Watson is healthy, you should still be adding Doubs and Reed where available, with Reed more of the priority. … Brown should get a boost in value with Tank Dell (leg) out for the season. Brown returned from a two-game absence with a knee injury in Week 13 against Denver and had no catches on two targets, but that was the game where Dell got hurt. Prior to his injury, Brown had scored at least 24.2 PPR points in two games in a row. He’s not a direct replacement for Dell, but Brown could be the No. 2 option in the passing game behind Nico Collins moving forward. … Smith-Njigba showed his potential in Week 13 at Dallas with seven catches for 62 yards on 11 targets, and he’s now scored at least 12.3 PPR points in all three games this season when he had at least seven targets. I doubt that happens consistently when everyone is healthy in Seattle, but Smith-Njigba could be a lottery ticket to have on your bench for the stretch run of the season.
• Drop candidates: Tank Dell (99 percent rostered), Jerry Jeudy (74 percent, Jahan Dotson (73 percent) and Tyler Boyd (57 percent). Dell is out for the season, so Fantasy managers in redraft leagues can safely drop him. He proved to be one of the best rookies in 2023, and prior to breaking his leg in Week 13 against Denver, he scored at least 17.2 PPR points in four games in a row. … Jeudy comes into Week 14 at the Chargers with 8.1 PPR points or less in three of his past four games and just one touchdown on the season. Even with a favorable upcoming schedule against the Chargers twice (Week 14 and 17) and Detroit (Week 15) it’s tough to trust Jeudy as a starter in the majority of leagues. … Dotson is not worth rostering with the Commanders on a bye in Week 14. You can make a case that Terry McLaurin is also worth dropping since he’s scored 9.3 PPR points or less in four games in a row, but I have more faith in him than Dotson. As for Dotson, he only seems to excel when Curtis Samuel is out, and Samuel looks like the safest Commanders receiver moving forward. … With Tee Higgins healthy now and Joe Burrow (wrist) out, you can safely drop Boyd in all leagues. He’s scored 7.2 PPR points or less in three games in a row.

Add in this order:

• On a bye: Trey McBride and Logan Thomas
• Injuries: Dalton Schultz (hamstring), Dallas Goedert (forearm), Tyler Higbee (neck), Luke Musgrave (abdomen), Darren Waller (hamstring), Zach Ertz (quadriceps), Dawson Knox (wrist) and Greg Dulcich (hamstring).
• Check to see if available in shallow leagues: Dallas Goedert (79 percent rostered). Goedert will hopefully return to action in Week 14 at Dallas after missing the past three games with a forearm injury. When healthy, he’ll be a No. 1 Fantasy tight end in all leagues, and you want that kind of potential on your roster if he’s available. Even if he’s out for the Cowboys game, Goedert should return in the Fantasy playoffs and can still be a tremendous difference maker when healthy.
• Drop candidates: Kyle Pitts (78 percent rostered), Logan Thomas (71 percent) and Juwan Johnson (61 percent). It’s time to move on from Pitts if you haven’t done so already. He has one touchdown on the season and just two games with double digits in PPR. I hope I’m wrong and he can close the season playing on a high note, but there’s little reason to have faith in Pitts based on his body of work in 2023. … Thomas is not worth holding on his bye if you need a tight end replacement. He hasn’t scored a touchdown since Week 8 and has scored 7.1 PPR points or less in three of his past five games, including two in a row. … Johnson had a big opportunity in Week 13 against Detroit with injuries to the Saints receivers, but he had a case of the drops with three targets and no catches. It will be tough to trust Johnson moving forward, and there’s little reason to roster him in most leagues, especially if Rashid Shaheed (thigh) is back in action in Week 14.

Add in this order:

• Saints (57 percent rostered) vs. CAR
• Colts (57 percent rostered) at CIN
• Texans (37 percent rostered) at NYJ
• Patriots (38 percent rostered) at PIT
• Packers (31 percent rostered) at NYG

• Matt Gay (51 percent rostered) at CIN
• Blake Grupe (41 percent rostered) vs. CAR
• Jake Moody (62 percent rostered) vs. SEA