# Fantasy Football Invalid Roster Question **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [August 20, 2011, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-football-invalid-roster-question/593441 "2011-08-20T17:08:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BuickGNX1987](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b487fb/32.png) [@BuickGNX1987](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BuickGNX1987)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-football-invalid-roster-question/593441/1 "2011-08-20T17:08:40Z")
I’m playing fantasy football for the first time. We just had our draft today, which was pretty fun. I managed to screw up and grab one too many wide receivers (I was pretty tired, plus there was only a 45 second timer, plus I forgot all about the flex position :smack:) but that’s OK. I only grabbed one TE though and this is what leads to my question. What exactly is an invalid roster? My league has a rule that an invalid roster leads to zero points for that week. What I’m concerned about is that when my TE has his bye week, I won’t have a TE starting that week. If that leads to an invalid roster, I have some roster shuffling to do. If not, I might just let it go. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-football-invalid-roster-question/593441/2 "2011-08-20T17:11:50Z")
Who do you have at TE? I usually don’t take a backup TE in a 10 or 12 team league. You can just drop your current TE before the bye week and pick up another one. Of course, you can drop any current player for a 2nd TE if you want to keep the player you drafted. ---
**Author:** ![BuickGNX1987](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b487fb/32.png) [@BuickGNX1987](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BuickGNX1987)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-football-invalid-roster-question/593441/3 "2011-08-20T17:36:08Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Who do you have at TE? I have Jason Witten. It may be helpful of me to note that this league’s scoring rules include points for receptions as well as yards and TDs. ---
**Author:** ![markdash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@markdash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markdash)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-football-invalid-roster-question/593441/4 "2011-08-20T21:26:56Z")
AFAIK an “invalid roster” is one with a hole in it. Players on byes don’t count. The idea behind the “invalid roster” is so players don’t strategically bench guys and leave holes in their lineup, which is another debate entirely. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Sensitive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/58956e/32.png) [@Darth\_Sensitive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Sensitive)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-football-invalid-roster-question/593441/5 "2011-08-20T23:49:03Z")
Witten is pretty good. When the Dallas bye rolls around, drop one of your depth WRs to pick up whoever looks good that week. ---
**Author:** ![BuickGNX1987](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b487fb/32.png) [@BuickGNX1987](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BuickGNX1987)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-football-invalid-roster-question/593441/6 "2011-08-21T04:25:49Z")
OK, I get it now. I’m guessing that someone might want to leave a blank spot in a league where bad play (INT’s, giving up tons of yardage or points on defense, etc.) is punished by negative points, and they know their defense or QB is going to do terribly. Thanks everyone. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Sensitive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/58956e/32.png) [@Darth\_Sensitive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Sensitive)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-football-invalid-roster-question/593441/7 "2011-08-21T04:36:31Z")
Or going into Monday Night Football with a lead people will sit their defenses. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2011, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-football-invalid-roster-question/593441/8 "2011-08-22T19:13:44Z")
What website are you doing it through? Most standard league setups allow you to leave a spot empty. What they generally mean by “invalid roster” is adding a player to your starting lineup without removing one, meaning you have three running backs starting (or whatever). ---
**Author:** ![BuickGNX1987](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b487fb/32.png) [@BuickGNX1987](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BuickGNX1987)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-football-invalid-roster-question/593441/9 "2011-08-23T05:26:31Z")
I am using [foxsports.com](http://foxsports.com).