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Dortch was unable to make the Lions and was a relatively-surprising cut Sunday. The former Arizona wideout was a productive — albeit flawed — receiving option with the Cardinals, and it’s not hard to imagine him being someone who helps Josh Allen and the passing attack in Buffalo this fall. Fantasy managers should take a wait-and-see approach, but it’s at least someone to monitor.

It’s something of a surprise considering Dortch was productive in limited opportunities as a member of the Cardinals from 2021 to 2025. Dortch had 66 receptions and six touchdowns over the past two seasons with Arizona, occassionally drawing a start when the team struggled with wideout injuries. Look for Dortch to catch on with another team in the coming days or weeks as receiver depth.

Dortch is following new Lions OC Drew Petzing from Arizona to Detroit. He turned 29 catches into 206 yards and three scores last year. Dortch is primarily a slot receiver and Amon-Ra St. Brown has the role locked down. At best, the former Cardinal will give ARSB the occasional breather. He could be an interesting PPR option if anything happens to St. Brown, but that isn’t something early fantasy drafters should plan for.

Dortch could return for the Week 18 finale, but it’s likely that the season is over for the 27-year-old. Assuming his campaign is done, he finishes 2025 with 29 receptions for 2026 yards and three touchdowns. Trent Sherfield has been promoted from the practice squad to take Dortch’s place.

With the pills no longer being Dortched, the Cardinals worked in 30 snaps of Xavier Weaver in Week 13’s loss to the Buccaneers. We expect a heavy concentration of targets on Trey McBride and Michael Wilson this week with both Dortch and Marvin Harrison Jr. down for the week.

Dortch is seemingly heading toward an absence for the Cardinals’ Week 14 game against the Rams. The veteran wide receiver was working his way into FLEX territory just a few weeks ago. He does not need to be rostered at this time. Cardinals WR Xavier Weaver (hamstring) was added to the injury report on Thursday.

Dortch was sidelined Wednesday with a chest injury. The 27-year-old had fantasy viability with Marvin Harrison Jr. out, but saw just two targets in Week 13 with Harrison back. Harrison (heel) also missed practice Wednesday, so the Cardinals’ wide receiver situation is one to monitor heading into Week 14 against the Rams.

With Marvin Harrison Jr. (appendectomy) rejoining Michael Wilson in the receiver corps, Dortch reverted to distant No. 4 status behind the wideouts and Trey McBride. It was nice to see Dortch pop up during the two games MHJ was sidelined, but he’s a real life role player who maxes out as a low-end WR4 in PPR leagues. When everyone is healthy, he struggles to crack the top 70. That will include for Week 14 against the Rams.

The shifty, diminutive speedster dusted his coverage defender on a slant route, late in regulation, caught the pass from QB Jacoby Brissett and shot past a second flailing defender before scampering for a 39-yard touchdown, briefly putting the Cardinals ahead on the scoreboard, 21-17. Dortch has caught six passes, generated 50-plus yards and scored a touchdown in consecutive weeks. He now warrants FLEX consideration against the Buccaneers, though he possesses a shaky floor.

If the Cardinals want to have successful plays with Dortch, they need to reduce the offensive penalties that happen when using him. Twice the Cardinals ran a direct snap play to him and twice the play was called back for a penalty. He hit paydirt with a garbage time touchdown in the fourth quarter. Dortch is primarily used in motion and in space; his strength is creating yards after the catch. If Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emari Demercado remain out in Week 12, expect Dortch to be on the fantasy WR4/5 bordeline. Otherwise, he should be off fantasy radars.

Dortch is the Cardinals’ shifty gadget receiver who primarily gets touches for yards-after-catch plays near the line of scrimmage. As a result, he ran for 12 yards on his touchdown score, but tallied minus-three yards on his other two receptions. Despite the score, Dortch is still best left off rosters for fantasy purposes.

Dortch entered the game with just four catches for 12 yards on four targets through three games. Arizona evidently wanted to put his YAC-based skill-set to use against the Seahawks. They succeeded, but there is little reason to expect this to remain a theme going forward. The 27-year-old remains best forgotten in fantasy football.

Kyler Murray retains his shifty slot receiver. Dortch flashes fun talent at times but has largely settled into a complementary role at this point. He caught 37-of-46 targets for 342 yards and three touchdowns last season and has a chance to produce similarly this year. Should Marvin Harrison Jr. make a second-year leap, Dortch’s target share will likely be impacted, though.

The two-score outing was the first of Dortch’s career. A summer hype darling as the Cardinals’ expected No. 3 wideout/slot man, Dortch caught six balls for 47 yards in Week 1. He then caught more than three passes just one more time all season before today, totaling 18 receptions after Week 6. Older than you would think (27 in May), Dortch now heads to restricted free agency, where he could be a non-tender candidate considering the way he fell out of favor this season. It’s also possible the Cardinals bring him back on a lesser deal. Were he to reach the open market, Dortch could still end up regarded as something of a diamond in the rough by a rival front office. He has 113 catches over the past three years.

Dortch broke off a 39-yard reception just before the end of the first half on a speedy catch-and-run. The chunk gain was somehow not even close to his most interesting play of the day. That was his six-yard carry. Dortch came across the formation in motion, took a handoff from Kyler Murray, and sprinted toward the end zone, only to cough up the football inches away from the goal line. Luckily for Dortch, right tackle Jonah Williams scrambled onto the football in the end zone for a touchdown. Dortch’s 60 yards were easily a season-high. He last topped nine yards in Week 6 and is not on the fantasy radar for Week 16’s matchup with the Panthers.

Dortch ran just eight pass routes on the day. He hasn’t had more than one catch in a game since mid-October after ceding WR2 duties to Michael Wilson early in the season. Dortch should remain on waiver wires until further notice.

Dortch remains a quiet option in the Cardinals’ passing game, catching one of this two targets on the day. He gets some gadget usage out of the slot, but is at best the No. 5 option in what has been a disappointing passing game. Dortch should remain off fantasy radars moving forward.