One of the most underrated pieces of fantasy football draft strategy is navigating the dreaded bye weeks, when NFL teams do not have to play a game and, therefore, cost devoted fantasy managers the ability to start some of their top names.
While drafters shouldn’t let bye weeks play too heavy a hand in who they draft, it could be considered a tiebreaking factor when deciding between two players who are essentially equal.
How strongly should fantasy drafters worry about bye weeks when building their team? Which NFL weeks could put some fantasy managers in bye-week purgatory?
Read our fantasy football guide to NFL byes below, plus some strategy tips on how to include the one-week vacations from top players into your plans.
Fantasy Football Bye Weeks Schedule Grid
| Fantasy Bye Week | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 14 |
| Arizona Cardinals | X | ||||||||
| Atlanta Falcons | X | ||||||||
| Baltimore Ravens | X | ||||||||
| Buffalo Bills | X | ||||||||
| Carolina Panthers | X | ||||||||
| Chicago Bears | X | ||||||||
| Cincinnati Bengals | X | ||||||||
| Cleveland Browns | X | ||||||||
| Dallas Cowboys | X | ||||||||
| Denver Broncos | X | ||||||||
| Detroit Lions | X | ||||||||
| Green Bay Packers | X | ||||||||
| Houston Texans | X | ||||||||
| Indianapolis Colts | X | ||||||||
| Jacksonville Jaguars | X | ||||||||
| Kansas City Chiefs | X | ||||||||
| Las Vegas Raiders | X | ||||||||
| Los Angeles Chargers | X | ||||||||
| Los Angeles Rams | X | ||||||||
| Miami Dolphins | X | ||||||||
| Minnesota Vikings | X | ||||||||
| New England Patriots | X | ||||||||
| New Orleans Saints | X | ||||||||
| New York Giants | X | ||||||||
| New York Jets | X | ||||||||
| Philadelphia Eagles | X | ||||||||
| Pittsburgh Steelers | X | ||||||||
| San Francisco 49ers | X | ||||||||
| Seattle Seahawks | X | ||||||||
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | X | ||||||||
| Tennessee Titans | X | ||||||||
| Washington Commanders | X |
What does a bye week mean in fantasy football?
A bye week on the NFL schedule is an off-week. NFL teams only receive one bye week in their 17-game regular season, which encompasses 18 total weeks before the playoffs.
Wondering how to see bye weeks on ESPN, Yahoo, and other fantasy football league apps? Check your or your leaguemates’ roster page or the free-agent available players list. You can also click on a player’s profile page.
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2025 Fantasy football bye weeks: Plan to replace top players
Week 5 fantasy byes
- Atlanta Falcons: QB Michael Penix Jr., RB Bijan Robinson/Tyler Allgeier, WR Drake London, TE Kyle Pitts
- Chicago Bears: QB Caleb Williams, RB D’Andre Swift, WR DJ Moore/Rome Odunze, TE Colston Loveland
- Green Bay Packers: QB Jordan Love, RB Josh Jacobs, WR Jayden Reed/Matthew Golden/Romeo Doubs, TE Tucker Kraft
- Pittsburgh Steelers: QB Aaron Rodgers, RB Jaylen Warren/Kaleb Johnson, WR DK Metcalf, TE Jonnu Smith/Pat Freiermuth
Two top-10 running backs, several top-20 wideouts, and some midrange-to-low-range QBs and TEs will take a breather.
Week 6 fantasy byes
- Houston Texans: QB C.J. Stroud, RB Joe Mixon, WR Nico Collins
- Minnesota Vikings: QB J.J. McCarthy, RB Aaron Jones/Jordan Mason, WR Justin Jefferson/Jordan Addison, TE T.J. Hockenson
Two of fantasy’s best wideouts in Jefferson and Collins will not play in Week 6, along with the other Vikings’ elite skill players, two potential weekly borderline starting quarterbacks.
Week 7 fantasy byes
- Baltimore Ravens: QB Lamar Jackson, RB Derrick Henry, WR Zay Flowers/Rashod Bateman, TE Mark Andrews
- Buffalo Bills: QB Josh Allen, RB James Cook, WR Khalil Shakir/Keon Coleman, TE Dalton Kincaid
Arguably the two most valuable fantasy quarterbacks will not be available in Week 7. Many of the enticing skill players from these squads reside in similar ADP tiers, so be careful doubling down on these two elite offenses.
Week 8 fantasy byes
- Arizona Cardinals: QB Kyler Murray, RB James Conner, WR Marvin Harrison Jr., TE Trey McBride
- Detroit Lions: QB Jared Goff, RB Jahmyr Gibbs/David Montgomery, WR Amon-Ra St. Brown/Jameson Williams, TE Sam LaPorta
- Jacksonville Jaguars: QB Trevor Lawrence, RB Travis Etienne/Tank Bigsby/Bhayshul Tuten, WR Brian Thomas Jr./Travis Hunter
- Las Vegas Raiders: QB Geno Smith, RB Ashton Jeanty, WR Jakobi Meyers, TE Brock Bowers
- Los Angeles Rams: QB Matthew Stafford, RB Kyren Williams, WR Puka Nacua/Davante Adams
- Seattle Seahawks: QB Sam Darnold, RB Kenneth Walker III/Zach Charbonnet, WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba/Cooper Kupp
Week 8 will rest the most bye-week teams of any weekend this season, with a slew of stars absent.
The top two tight ends (Bowers, McBride), plus another top-5 name (LaPorta) will not be usable. Quarterback absences should be manageable, but plenty of first- and second-round running backs and wideouts with heavy fantasy investment also will need to be replaced.
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Week 9 fantasy byes
- Cleveland Browns: QB Shedeur Sanders/???, RB Quinshon Judkins, WR Jerry Jeudy/Cedric Tillman, TE David Njoku
- New York Jets: QB Justin Fields, RB Breece Hall/Braelon Allen, WR Garrett Wilson
- Philadelphia Eagles: QB Jalen Hurts, RB Saquon Barkley, WR A.J. Brown/DeVonta Smith, TE Dallas Goedert
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers: QB Baker Mayfield, RB Bucky Irving/Rachaad White, WR Mike Evans/Chris Godwin/Emeka Egbuka
In addition to Jalen Hurts, three star running backs (Barkley, Irving, Hall) and many more stud wideouts (Brown, Wilson, Evans, Smith, Godwin) plus the promising rookie Egbuka will leave lineup holes in Week 9.
Week 10 fantasy byes
- Cincinnati Bengals: QB Joe Burrow, RB Chase Brown, WR Ja’Marr Chase/Tee Higgins
- Dallas Cowboys: QB Dak Prescott, RB Javonte Williams/Jaydon Blue, WR CeeDee Lamb/George Pickens, TE Jake Ferguson
- Kansas City Chiefs: QB Patrick Mahomes, RB Isiah Pacheco/Kareem Hunt, WR Rashee Rice/Xavier Worthy/Hollywood Brown, TE Travis Kelce
- Tennessee Titans: QB Cam Ward, RB Tony Pollard/Tyjae Spears, WR Calvin Ridley, TE Chig Okonkwo
Write off three starter-worthy (two elite) quarterbacks, a borderline first-round RB (Brown), and way too many top wideouts (Chase, Lamb, Higgins, Rice, Pickens, Worthy, Ridley, Brown).
Week 11 fantasy byes
- Indianapolis Colts: QB Anthony Richardson/Daniel Jones, RB Jonathan Taylor, WR Michael Pittman/Josh Downs, TE Tyler Warren
- New Orleans Saints: QB Tyler Shough/Spencer Rattler, RB Alvin Kamara, WR Chris Olave/Rashid Shaheed
Only superflex/2QB fantasy players will be hurting this week; 1QB players shouldn’t miss these quarterbacks.
But Taylor and Kamara will be tough shoes to fill. Plus, Olave and Shaheed, plus the Colts’ bevy of receiving targets, might leave their managers with at least some tough lineup depth decisions.
Week 12 fantasy byes
- Denver Broncos: QB Bo Nix, RB R.J. Harvey/J.K Dobbins, WR Courtland Sutton/Marvin Mims, TE Evan Engram
- Los Angeles Chargers: QB Justin Herbert, RB Omarion Hampton/Najee Harris, WR Ladd McConkey/Tre Harris/Keenan Allen
- Miami Dolphins: QB Tua Tagovailoa, RB De’Von Achane, WR Tyreek Hill/Jaylen Waddle, TE Darren Waller
- Washington Commanders: QB Jayden Daniels, RB Brian Robinson Jr./Austin Ekeler, WR Terry McLaurin/Deebo Samuel, TE Zach Ertz
Another tough weekend for vacations: Fantasy managers must seek several highly sought running backs and wideouts.
Week 14 fantasy byes
- Carolina Panthers: QB Bryce Young, RB Chuba Hubbard/Rico Dowdle, WR Tetairoa McMillan/Adam Thielen/Xavier Legette, Jalen Coker
- New England Patriots: QB Drake Maye, RB TreVeyon Henderson/Rhamondre Stevenson, WR Stefon Diggs/DeMario Douglas/Kyle Williams, TE Hunter Henry
- New York Giants: QB Russell Wilson, RB Tyrone Tracy/Cam Skattebo, WR Malik Nabers
- San Francisco 49ers: QB Brock Purdy, RB Christian McCaffrey/Isaac Guerendo, WR Ricky Pearsall/Jauan Jennings/Brandon Aiyuk, TE George Kittle
Despite the teams listed not jumping off the page, numerous fantasy stars’ off-week may jeopardize some of their fantasy managers’ quest to make the postseason.
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Do bye weeks matter in fantasy football drafting?
Since you only draft one or two quarterbacks in your league, that’s likely the most important bye picture to consider. If your format recommends having a backup QB, ideally he shouldn’t have the same bye as the starter.
Thankfully, because these breathers don’t start until Week 5, you’ll have a few weeks to settle things even if you do double or triple up.
Loading up on several players with the same bye week isn’t a death sentence. Proper planning with your bench management — an especially plausible attack in best-ball leagues that allow you to pile up reserve players — should help things work out.
The best way to handle week-to-week bye management is to plan ahead on the waiver wire and stash appropriately.
