Matt Cassel, Quarterback – New England Patriots
With Brady out for the season, Matt Cassel is now the quarterback for the Patriots. While you can’t expect Brady-like numbers from him, he could develop into an above average fantasy QB.

Kerry Collins, Quarterback – Tennessee Titans
Vince Young will be out for around a month and Kerry Collins will fill in. Collins still has a big arm and can put up stats for the Titans while Young is sidelined.

Steve Slaton, Running Back – Houston Texans
In Week 1, Steve Slaton was a surprising starter. Neither he nor the Texans looked good against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but he’s worth having on your roster.

Shaun Alexander, Running Back
Although he’s not currently with a team, there are strong whispers that he can be signed soon. If you have a deep roster and can take a gamble, consider Alexander.

Courtney Taylor, Wide Receiver – Seattle Seahawks
With Nate Burleson out for the season and Deion Branch, Bobby Engram and Ben Obomanu already injured, someone will have to step up for Seattle. It might be Courtney Taylor.

Hank Baskett, Wide Receiver – Philadelphia Eagles
Reggie Brown and Kevin Curtis are injured, which means that Hank Baskett currently has a starting gig. In the Eagles’ pass happy offense, that makes him a threat.

Anthony Fasano, Tight End – Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins traded for Anthony Fasano and he immediately paid dividends. Chad Pennington likes throwing to tight ends and Fasano looks like his top choice.

Dante Rosario, Tight End – Carolina Panthers
While things may change when Steve Smith returns to the lineup, Dante Rosario appeared to be a big part of the offense in Week 1.

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Benson was scheduled to start for the Bears in 2008, so this move has a big fantasy football impact. With Benson out of the picture, Chicago now has to find a new starter.

Who will start at running back for the Bears?

The leading option right now seems to be rookie second round draft pick Matt Forte. Even though he was drafted in the second round, the Bears are high on his potential. Other possible options include returning players Adrian Peterson and Garrett Wolfe. Free agent running backs such as Shaun Alexander or Kevin Jones may also be looked at as possible solutions.

As far as Benson is concerned, he’ll likely be given another shot at some point in the NFL. Right now, it appears as if he first needs to get his life in order. Once he does return, he’ll likely have to serve a suspension due to his pair of arrests.

Photo: Newscom

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The main reason the Broncos needed added depth was because projected starter Travis Henry is dealing with hamstring issues. Pittman will join other running backs Selvin Young, Andre Hall and Ryan Torain on Denver’s roster.

In fantasy football, Pittman would need to secure a starting or at least a backup job to be considered a draftable player. If he somehow wins the starting job, he’d suddenly become a player who’d be drafted in the top five rounds just because of the Broncos’ history of having very productive running backs. Even if he wins the backup job, Pittman would hold value since the other running backs on the roster are mostly injury prone.

The Broncos decided to sign Pittman after looking at free agent Shaun Alexander.

Photo: Newscom

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The latest news regarding Alexander is that the Denver Broncos no longer appear to be interested. Alexander might have been a good fit in Denver but the Broncos don’t have the salary cap room to sign him. Other rumors have linked Alexander to the Cincinnati Bengals, New Orleans Saints and Detroit Lions, however there doesn’t appear to be anything imminent.

The problem for Alexander is he looked especially inept last season on the Seattle Seahawks. He didn’t have any burst and he couldn’t break tackles. Alexander has never been a power back but he was even softer than usual in 2007. Couple that with his lack of speed and it’s not too surprising that teams breaking down his door.

Right now, it looks like Alexander will need to wait for an injury to land with an NFL team. If a starter goes down and a team wants an experience back who can come right in and play, that’s when Alexander will have some value.

In terms of fantasy football, Alexander is nothing more than a late round pick at the moment. However, that could change if he lands on a team and is named a starter.

Photo: Newscom

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Not too long ago, Alexander was a fantasy football franchise player. He was a top three pick who could be counted on to bring you big points on a weekly basis. Nowadays, it’s unsure whether he’ll be able to land a starting role in the 2008 NFL season.

As far as the Seahawks are concerned, they needed to move on. The fans had grown tired of Alexander and Seattle had brought in a couple of other running backs. Julius Jones and TJ Duckett were signed and now both of those players will get a lot of carries for the Seahawks. Jones will be more responsible for yardage, while Duckett will likely be the goal line back.

Alexander’s next stop in the NFL is unknown at this point. While he isn’t expected to retire, he’ll need to fight for carries in 2008. Which teams could be interested in signing Alexander? Two teams that really need running back help are the Detroit Lions and the New York Jets. The Lions waived Kevin Jones earlier in the offseason and could be looking for a replacement. The Jets have signed a number of veteran players and could view Alexander as another veteran that can help the team win now.

There have also been ties between Alexander and the Cincinnati Bengals. Alexander could end up with the Bengals to further bolster their running game.

Alexander’s fantasy projections for the 2008 season will depend on what team he signs with and how many carries he’s expected to get. However, in all scenarios, he won’t be viewed as anything more than a third or fourth rounder in a fantasy football draft.

Here is one fan who thinks you should leave Shaun Alexander alone:

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Once he hit the free agent market, there will be teams interested in signing him, even though Alexander struggled mightily in 2007. He averaged 3.5 yards per carry and had only four touchdowns.

However, it wasn’t too long ago that Alexander was one of the best backs in the league and one of the best players in all of fantasy football. In 2005, Alexander had an astonishing 27 touchdowns for the Seahawks. He made plenty of fantasy football owners smile that year.

In 2008, the fantasy football world is going to be weary of Alexander no matter where he ends up. He likely won’t be a starter and even if he is, he’ll likely last until the fourth or fifth round in fantasy football drafts.

One team that is said to be interested is the Cincinnati Bengals. If the Bengals don’t sign him, a veteran team such as the New York Jets could be interested in his service. And then there’s Al Davis and the Oakland Raiders, who seem to always need running back help these days.

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RB Ryan Grant, Green Bay Packers – In the merry-go-round that is the Packers running back corps, Grant appears to be the current leader. He played well on Monday Night Football and heads into Week 9 as the likely starter. With Brett Favre playing as well as he’s playing, Grant could have plenty of chances to score the ball.

RB Maurice Hicks, San Francisco 49ers – A lot of fantasy owners are sprinting to pickup Michael Robinson. However, if you look at what happened in the past, Hicks is likely to be the player who gets the bulk of the carries if Frank Gore is unable to play. Robinson, on the other hand, will probably remain the team’s third down back.

RB Justin Fargas, Oakland Raiders – With LaMont Jordan looking worse and worse by the week after injuring his back earlier in the year, Fargas appears to be the next in line. He’s played very well this year and could surpass Jordan as the starter soon. If he does, the Raiders have proven they have the ability to run the ball this year.

RB Leonard Weaver, Seattle Seahawks – With Shaun Alexander struggling, Weaver is a possibility to start getting more carries. While Maurice Morris is the backup running back, Morris wasn’t very good last year when he was thrust into the starting lineup. Weaver is more of an unknown he perhaps could be an answer to some of the Seahawks’ problems.

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