In fantasy football, the ability to drop players typically depends on your league's rules and platform, but generally:
- You can drop players anytime before their game starts during a game week. For example, if a player is playing in a Thursday game, you need to drop them before kickoff of that game. For Sunday or Monday games, you can drop players until their respective game start times.
- After games conclude for a week, waiver claims are processed overnight (e.g., around 3 to 5 AM early Wednesday on ESPN). During the waiver period, you put in claims to add players and often must drop someone simultaneously. Once waivers clear, players become free agents and can be picked up or dropped freely without restriction.
- You should avoid dropping players prematurely before waivers process, especially if you want to pick up someone on waivers. Usually, dropping players strategically happens when you make waiver claims or when free agency opens after waivers clear.
- Some platforms allow immediate dropping and adding of players during free agency, provided they haven't been on your team less than 24 hours post-adding in some cases.
- If a player has already played a game that week and started for your lineup, dropping rules vary by league, and some leagues may prevent dropping or impose consequences for dropping post-play.
In summary, you can generally drop players anytime before they play their weekly game, usually need to wait for overnight waivers to clear after game day to freely add/drop players, and should check your specific league's rules and platform settings for any nuances or restrictions around dropping players after games.
