Fantasy Football Cut-N-Go: Cutting Ward Opens Door for Kareem Huggins

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers cut running back Derrick Ward on Tuesday, making his tenure in Tampa a short one.

Ward signed a free agent contract with the Buccaneers before the 2009 season and ran the ball 114 times for 409 yards last season. He was expected to continue in a back-up role to Cadillac Williams this season but had troubles in camp and preseason games.

Ward didn't perform well, and when the writing went up on the wall, instead of working harder, he got upset and complacent. In three preseason games he rushed for 50 yards on 21 carries, and that just wasn't good enough for the Bucs.

Williams is healthy and ready for the starting running back role, and Kareem Huggins has impressed enough of the Tampa Bay staff to figure that Ward was not needed.

You weren't likely to have drafted Ward on your fantasy team, which is good news. But now, the fantasy value of Huggins goes up. I've seen him go as early as the 12th round in some drafts, but currently Huggins is only being selected in about 10 percent of drafts. That needs to change.

You can feel comfortable using a late-round flier on Huggins. Especially as a handcuff for Williams.

How Long Can Williams Hold Bryant Off?
Cowboys wide receiver Roy Williams is currently ahead of rookie Dez Bryant on the depth chart. The fact that Bryant missed so much time during training camp was supposed to ensure that Williams had a starting job for at least the first few weeks of the season. Nick Eatman of DallasCowboys.com says that on the first day Bryant was back at practice, Williams is sitting out with a back injury.

Roy Williams has a lower back strain and hip flexor that bothered him Saturday night in Houston. The Cowboys are holding Williams out of practice for precautionary reasons, head athletic trainer Jim Maurer said during Tuesday's practice.

Bryant may be able to pass Williams on the depth chart quicker than expected.

No One Knows Who Will Be WR3 in Oakland
Because Chaz Schilens is out of the picture, the No. 3 receiver slot behind Darrius Heyward-Bey and Louis Murphy is a mystery, says Vittorio Tafur of The San Francisco Chronicle. Whether it's Yamon Figurs, Jacoby Ford or Johnnie Lee Higgins doesn't matter to fantasy GM's. None of those options should be on a fantasy roster.

And Portis' No. 2 Is?
Matt McFarland of The Washington Post thinks that Larry Johnson has secured the role of backup running back to Clinton Portis in Washington. But neither Johnson, Willie Parker, Keiland Williams or Ryan Torain have really done a lot to impress, and that's working against second and third string defenses.

Taking Hillis for a Test Drive
The Cleveland Browns seem to be giving running back Peyton Hillis a lot of looks in practice, letting him run more and more with the starting unit, says Steve Doerschuk of The Canton Repository.

For now, it is only clear that big back Hillis is being test driven quite a bit with the "ones," and that he injects a certain attitude with his comin'-through blasts.

If this news holds up to be an indicator of playing time in Cleveland, Montario Hardesty could be in trouble. It also may be time to place Hillis on your waiver wire radar.

The Cut-N-Go is back to keep you up-to-date on all the NFL news that affects the upcoming fantasy football season.