Cam Newton Update Clouds Week 17 Fantasy Outlook

The New England Patriots have struggled this season and will finish the season with a losing record for the first time since 2000. Quarterback Cam Newton has fought through a tough year, but was benched again in the midst of a blowout loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 16.

Now, his starting status for Week 17 remains up in the air as head coach Bill Belichick has yet to name the team's starter against the New York Jets, clouding his fantasy outlook.

Cam Newton Fantasy Outlook

Newton has not been efficient in the passing game all season, as he has thrown for under 200 yards in 10 of his 14 games played.

He has been making it up through his running abilities, though, averaging 36.7 rushing yards per game and totaling 12 rushing touchdowns. However, it just hasn't been enough to be dependable during the fantasy football season.

Jarrett Stidham Fantasy Outlook

If Stidham ends up being named the starter, he suddenly becomes an interesting player in fantasy football. In limited playing time this season, Stidham has completed 22 of 44 passes for 256 yards and 2 touchdowns. However, he has also has thrown 3 interceptions and has a passer rating of just 54.7

One benefit that comes with facing the Jets in Week 17 is their defense's inability to stop opposing quarterbacks from having a big day. They are giving up the fourth-most passing yards per game in the NFL (278.1) and have just 19 takeaways on the season (T-No. 22 in the NFL). New York is also allowing the fourth-most PPR fantasy points per game (20.92) to quarterbacks this year.

This may be the opportunity for Stidham to show what he's got, but he is way too risky to start in fantasy football.

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Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.