Fantasy Week 8 Byes 2025: Replacing Jahmyr Gibbs, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Trey McBride, more players from 6 teams

In Week 8, a season-high six teams will be on bye. Along with these teams, fantasy managers will have to navigate their matchups without some of their top players.

We at The Sporting News are calling this "byepocalypse" or "byemageddon." However, as daunting as this may sound, there's no need to panic.

This will be your comprehensive guide to all things "byepocalypse," including some of our favorite Week 8 waiver wire pickups for players on bye.

Keep reading for everything you need to know about the numerous teams on a bye in Week 8.

NFL Teams on Week 8 Bye

• Arizona Cardinals 
• Detroit Lions 
• Jacksonville Jaguars 
• Las Vegas Raiders 
• Los Angeles Rams 
• Seattle Seahawks

Fantasy Week 8 QBs on Bye

• Kyler Murray, Cardinals 
• Jared Goff, Lions 
• Trevor Lawrence, Jaguars 
• Geno Smith, Raiders 
• Matthew Stafford, Rams 
• Sam Darnold, Seahawks 

While there may be some options above that you start every week, most of these options are strictly started in favorable matchups. 

I want to highlight Kyler Murray as a potential stash during his bye week. In Week 9, Murray will face the Dallas Cowboys, which makes him an intriguing start.

Matthew Stafford casually broke the international record with five touchdown passes. He's been on an absolute tear and is the QB10 overall. 

Best Waiver Pickups to replace Week 8 bye QBs

• Michael Penix Jr., Falcons vs Dolphins (24%)
• Joe Flacco, Bengals vs Jets (12%)
• Jaxson Dart, Giants at Eagles (42%)

Michael Penix Jr. is dealing with a bone bruise, which is leaving him questionable for Week 8. However, if he plays, he'll face a Miami Dolphins defense that is horrid against opposing QBs for fantasy football. 

Joe Flacco has been balling as the QB1 for the Bengals. Turns out, throwing the ball to Ja'Marr Chase 23 times is a good idea, who would've thought. There is a chance that Sauce Gardner will miss due to a concussion as well. 

Jaxson Dart is not as available, but he's a must-start at this point for fantasy football. Usually, it's his rushing ability that makes him such a threat, but in Week 7, Dart was phenomenal with his arm against a great Denver defense. 

MORE: Weekly fantasy rankings

Fantasy Week 8 RBs on Bye

• Bam Knight, Cardinals 
• Michael Carter, Cardinals 
• Jahmyr Gibbs, Lions 
• David Montgomery, Lions 
• Travis Etienne, Jaguars 
• Bhayshul Tuten, Jaguars 
• Ashton Jeanty, Raiders 
• Raheem Mostert, Raiders
• Kyren Williams, Rams 
• Blake Corum, Rams 
• Kenneth Walker, Seahawks 
• Zach Charbonnet, Seahawks 

This is where the bye week starts to truly impact fantasy managers. As you can see, several fantastic options are not available in Week 8. 

There are a total of six RB25 or better players on this list. 

With this variety of great fantasy RBs on bye, managers will have to pivot to get a win in Week 8. 

Best Waiver Pickups to replace Week 8 bye RBs

• Kyle Monangai, Bears at Ravens (7%)
• Tyjae Spears, Titans at Colts (29%)
• Breshard Smith, Chiefs vs Commanders (6%)
• Tyrone Tracy Jr., Giants at Eagles (44%)

Kyle Monangai is one of my favorite players this week. The Baltimore Ravens allow 29.1 fantasy points per game to the RB position. We saw in Week 7 that D'Andre Swift can have a great game, and Monangai can still be productive. 

Breshard Smith and Tyjae Spears are both overall good options to stash, but still could be a good desperation play in Week 8. 

MORE: Protect your backfields with our RB Handcuff Rankings & Depth Charts

Fantasy Week 8 WRs on Bye

• Marvin Harrison Jr., Cardinals 
• Michael Wilson, Cardinals 
• Zay Jones, Cardinals 
• Amon-Ra St. Brown, Lions 
• Jameson Williams, Lions 
• Isaac TeSlaa, Lions 
• Brian Thomas Jr., Jaguars 
• Travis Hunter, Jaguars 
• Dyami Brown, Jaguars 
• Parker Washington, Jaguars 
• Jakobi Meyers, Raiders 
• Tre Tucker, Raiders 
• Jack Bech, Raiders 
• Puka Nacua, Rams 
• Davante Adams, Rams 
• Tutu Atwell, Rams 
• Jordan Whittington, Rams 
• Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seahawks 
• Cooper Kupp, Seahawks 
• Tory Horton, Seahawks 

There are some notable WRs on bye this week; in fact, fantasy players will miss three playes who rank WR5 overall or better. 

Best Waiver Pickups to replace Week 8 bye WRs

• Darnell Mooney, Falcons vs Dolphins (29%)
• Marvin Mims Jr., Broncos vs Cowboys (23%)
• Troy Franklin, Broncos vs Cowboys (21%)
• Alec Pierce, Colts vs Titans (9%)

The two Broncos WRs are must-starts in their matchup against Dallas. I prefer Marvin Mims, but Troy Franklin can easily be the highest-scoring WR on the team. 

Darnell Mooney needs to be rostered at a higher percentage. Plus, targeting the Miami Dolphins has worked thus far. 

Fantasy Week 8 TEs on Bye

• Trey McBride, Cardinals 
• Sam LaPorta, Lions 
• Brenton Strange (IR-R), Jaguars
• Johnny Mundt, Jags 
• Brock Bowers, Raiders 
• Michael Mayer, Raiders 
• Tyler Higbee, Rams 
• AJ Barner, Seahawks 

Trey McBride is the TE2, and Sam LaPorta is the TE7, so their production will be missed by managers this week. 

I want to single out Brock Bowers. Please don't panic. As someone who owns Bowers in a competitive league, it's frustrating to draft a TE as high as Bowers was going and to end up with the TE30. But, he is on track to return in Week 9, and potentially without Jakobi Meyers. In the one game that Bowers was fully healthy, he was the TE2.  

Best Waiver Pickups to replace Week 8 bye TEs

• Juwan Johnson, Saints vs Buccaneers (30%)
• Evan Engram, Broncos vs Cowboys (57%)
• Noah Fant, Bengals vs Jets (1%)

If Juwan Johnson and Evan Engram are available in your leagues, they need to be rostered. 

However, Noah Fant is a sneaky name that could offer some value as a streamer in Week 8. The Jets have allowed 14.7 fantasy points per game to TEs, and Fant has been targeted 8 times by Flacco since becoming the starter.