Sam Bradford Out Against Cowboys; But Don't Give Up On Him This Season

Sam Bradford has been downgraded to out against the Dallas Cowboys due to his high ankle sprain. But, while you may want to, now is not the time to give up on the Rams quarterback.

The two reasons to keep him are 1) the addition of Brandon Lloyd and the Rams' remaining schedule. Will these two things make a difference for your fantasy team?

Yes, but it is still going to take some time. You are probably teetering on giving up on Bradford because he has failed miserably to live up to expectations this season, but hold on a little longer.

The trade for Brandon Lloyd with the Denver Broncos brings a receiver Rams’ offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels certainly brought out of nowhere last season when he was head coach in Denver. St. Louis also activated Mark Clayton from the PUP list this week, a receiver that Bradford clicked with instantly last season. A knee injury last year sidelined Clayton to this point. Danario Alexander seems to be a reliable deep threat after having battled with his own injuries. And rookie Greg Salas has become a favorite target in the slot role where we all expected someone, either Danny Amendola to be the new Wes Welker.

Bradford has underwhelmed us this season to say the least. He is the 31st ranked quarterback heading into Week 7, scoring just 59.28 points in Athlon’s scoring format (6 points all touchdowns and 1 point per 25 yards passing). He has just one game in the teens which was a 19.74-point effort against a depleted New York Giants secondary.

One of the caveat’s about owning Bradford this season was the fact the Rams had a tough schedule the first half of the year. But if he can stay healthy (currently battling a high ankle sprain and may not play this week) and get acclimated with the new targets, that schedule against the pass certainly lightens up.

After Dallas, the Rams play six of their seven games against teams currently in the bottom half of the league against fantasy quarterbacks, including New Orleans (24th), Arizona (22nd), Cleveland (5th), Seattle (17th), Arizona (22nd), San Francisco (19th) and Seattle (17th). Keep in mind when your fantasy schedule matters most, the final two playoff weeks 15 and 16, the Rams play two of the top teams currently against fantasy passers in Cincinnati (3rd) and Pittsburgh (2nd).

But back to this week.

As a sidebar, if you are VERY desperate, A.J. Feeley may be a decent spot start in Bradford’s sted as the Rams should be trailing and due to Dallas’ track record against fantasy quarterbacks thus far. 

Dallasv has allowed all but one opposing QB to score 19-plus fantasy points (Mark Sanchez (22.7), Alex Smith (20.26), Matthew Stafford (19.5), Rex Grossman (13.6) and Tom Brady (21.26).

By Corby Yarbrough, @Corby_Yarbrough