Fantasy Football Cut-N-Go: When Will Michael Crabtree Suit Up?

Cut-N-Go is Fantasy Football FanHouse's weekday roundup of the NFL news with fantasy football impact.

Early on Wednesday morning the San Francisco 49ers and Michael Crabtree, their first-round draft pick, came to an agreement -- ending a long holdout. Financial details haven't been disclosed, and quite honestly aren't relevant to the fantasy football GM. The important question -- when will Crabtree be ready to play?

Matt Maiocco of The Press-Democrat says that it may be a few weeks before Crabtree gets onto the field.

The 49ers are expecting a two-week roster exemption, thus buying them some time before they are required to release a player to create a spot on the team's 53-man roster.

This will allow Crabtree to practice with the team -- something he's supposed to start doing today -- while the team decides who they'll cut once they activate the receiver.

Crabtree will likely not be ready to play by this Sunday when the Atlanta Falcons come to town After that, the 49ers have a bye week and then face Houston on October 25.

That date with the Texans in late October could be the first time fantasy football owners are able to use Crabtree. Look for the 49ers to begin plugging Crabtree into their three-receiver packages to start and then eventually widen his usage over the next few weeks.

Matt Snyder, however, thinks that it might take as many as six weeks for Crabtree to become fantasy relevant.

Other Fantasy Football Notes
• Adam Schefter of ESPN, via his Twitter stream, says that newly-acquired Braylon Edwards will play Monday night for the Jets.

• Geoff Mosher of the Wilmington News-Journal, via his Twitter stream, says that Donovan McNabb will play this Sunday and may wear a protective jacket to guard his ribs.

• Greg Olsen may be off to a slow start according to the number of receptions he has (only ten thus far), but he's caught two touchdown passes and Brad Biggs of the Chicago Sun-Times says that Olsen will be a great force in the red zone. Music to the ears of fantasy GMs.

• Chalk this up to some not-so-great news for the Miami Dolphins running backs this Monday. Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post says that Jets coach Rex Ryan is putting lots of thought into stopping the rushing attack led by Ronnie Brown in Miami. When asked about the 200-plus yards the Dolphins have put up running the ball against Indianapolis and Buffalo, Ryan said "I don't think they'll see that this week, though".

• Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News says that it's possible for Eli Manning to skip practice all week and still play on Sunday. Manning was not able to practice on Wednesday even though his foot feels much better.

• Jerry McDonald of the Oakland Tribune says with Darren McFadden out for two to four weeks Michael Bush and Justin Fargas will split carries.

• With defenses focused on DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin, Paul Domowitch of the Philadelphia Inquirer says the middle of the field has been opened up for slot receiver Jason Avant and tight end Brent Celek. Avant has 11 receptions for 111 yards and a touchdown and Celek already has two touchdown catches. Avant and Celek could both flourish in the middle, especially with Donovan McNabb's return close.

• With the departure of Chansi Stuckey, the Jets' slot receiver position is a void. Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News speculates that Brad Smith will become the Jets' No. 3 receiver but Wallace Wright could see an expanded role in the offense.