5 quarterbacks to add off the waiver wire to replace Justin Herbert

It was another week where a top fantasy football quarterback saw their season likely come to an end due to an injury. After the Chargers' Week 14 loss, head coach Brandon Staley announced that Justin Herbert had a fractured finger on his throwing hand.

As Ian Rapoport notes, at this point it likely means that Herbert's season is over and for fantasy football, managers are absolutely going to need to find a new quarterback if they are in their league's playoffs.

The good news is that there should be some quarterbacks on the waiver wire who have favorable playoff schedules that will be good replacements for Justin Herbert. These are five quarterbacks that are rostered in 75% or fewer leagues according to FantasyPros.

5 quarterbacks to add off the waiver wire in fantasy football to replace Justin Herbert

Kyler Murray (71% rostered)

The one quarterback who is a must-add if available is Kyler Murray with the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals were on a bye this week so he might even be available right now to add to rosters depending on league settings.

The former first overall pick returned in Week 10 from a torn ACL suffered last season and has been very productive over the past four games. During this stretch, he has had six total touchdowns and only two interceptions with over 200 passing yards in three of those games.

He also has been getting plenty of opportunities to make plays on the ground with six or more rushing attempts in three of those games. The Cardinals' schedule isn't great with games against the 49ers, Bears and Eagles over the next three games but Murray is the best quarterback among this group.

Russell Wilson (71% rostered)

The veteran quarterback has been playing good football over the second half of the season but it has been due to the offense leaning more on the run game. The Broncos are not asking Wilson to throw it much which limits his point potential.

This past week against the Chargers, Wilson threw for 224 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. However, he threw 33 times which is only the second time in the past eight weeks that he had 30 or more pass attempts.

Wilson also has broken 200 passing yards in a game only twice, which is the same games he had 30 or more pass attempts. However, in four of those eight weeks he has two or more touchdowns and that is why he might be a player worth adding.

The schedule for Wilson is also great, and probably one of the best for quarterbacks during the playoffs. The next three weeks, the Broncos play the Lions, the Patriots, and then the Chargers again.

Matthew Stafford (45% rostered)

It has not been a great season for Matthew Stafford but the past three weeks, the former Super Bowl MVP has been excellent. In the game against the Cardinals in Week 12, Stafford had 229 passing yards and four touchdowns with one interception. He followed it up with 279 passing yards and three touchdowns against the Cleveland Browns.

This week, Stafford would once again have multiple touchdowns with three against the Baltimore Ravens while throwing for 294 yards. The performance over the past three weeks is even more impressive when considering the defenses he has gone against in the Browns and Ravens.

The Rams schedule gets much easier the next few weeks with games against the Commanders in Week 15, Saints in Week 16 and Giants in Week 17.

Joe Flacco (5% rostered)

Among the five quarterbacks, Joe Flacco is the most likely to be available and could end up being a league winner. He has now started the last two games for the Cleveland Browns and looked surprisingly good in both games.

In his first regular season action last week against the Rams, he had 254 passing yards and two touchdowns with one interception. This week, he helped lead the Browns to a win over the Jaguars with over 300 passing yards, three touchdowns, and an interception.

The next three games, the Browns play the Bears, Texans and Jets which is not necessarily an easy schedule. The Bears and Jets are playing very good football but Flacco has a great offensive line in front of him and some good wide receivers.

Desmond Ridder (7% rostered)

I would be looking to add any of the four quarterbacks before Desmond Ridder but if they are all gone, then the Atlanta Falcons quarterback is worth taking a chance on. This week, the Falcons lost to the Bucs but it wasn't due to Ridder who had one of the best games of his career with 347 passing yards, one passing touchdown, one interception with another 15 rushing yards and one touchdown.

Desmond Ridder was benched midway through the season but has started the last three games. However, the two games prior to this one he threw for under 200 yards and had only two total touchdowns during that stretch.

The Falcons have three manageable games coming up with Carolina Panthers, Indianapolis Colts and then a tough game against the Chicago Bears. This offense definitely has the talent for Ridder to be successful with Drake London, Kyle Pitts, and Bijan Robinson.

However, it would be great to have one more game similar to the one he had against the Bucs to trust him to start in fantasy football playoffs.