One starting quarterback goes down, and a bunch of mid-tier running backs are ready to make their return.

Oh, and what a year for rookie wide receivers.

That’s just a few topics that make it another exciting week in fantasy football. Add four more teams – Baltimore, Dallas, Jacksonville and the New York Jets – on byes, and it all leads to another hectic week of transactions on the waiver wire.

Here are a few players to target this week:

Quarterback

Carson Palmer will be tough to replace for the 8-1 Arizona Cardinals and fantasy owners. Fantasy players in two-quarterback leagues and deeper formats will struggle to find quarterbacks available to pick up that can provide much stability.

The best bet is to play matchups going forward if you are replacing Palmer in your lineup. This week, go with Minnesota’s Teddy Bridgewater, who is coming off a bye before he will face the Chicago Bears.

Remember the last time you saw the Bears play? They were getting torched for six passing touchdowns in one half by Aaron Rodgers and the Packers on Sunday night. Bridgewater certainly is no Rodgers, but it is hard to see him not throwing for more than one touchdown for the first time in his NFL career. He hasn’t fumbled all year and hasn’t thrown an interception in his last two games, and his running ability gives him another way to score points.

It’s hard to trust Mark Sanchez after just one good start given his past. Still, 332 yards and two touchdowns without a turnover is hard to ignore. I’m still not sold on him long term, but he is worth considering this week against the Green Bay Packers in a game that could become a high-scoring affair.

Running Back

Welcome back Montee Ball, Fred Jackson, Rashad Jennings and Ryan Mathews.

Not a moment too soon for some owners who held on to one of these injured backs through their various injuries. But many of these running backs were dropped by those who didn’t want to sit around and wait on them to get healthy. Their loss should be your gain.

Let’s start with the Broncos. The depth at running back may be good for Denver, but it isn’t for fantasy owners. Ronnie Hillman, who emerged as the starter after Ball went down with an injury, looks like he could miss anywhere from one to three weeks with a foot sprain. CJ Anderson emerged last week with 163 total yards and a touchdown in Oakland. Ball will be active this week, and I imagine the Broncos will go with a pure committee system with Anderson, Ball and Juwan Thompson. Starting any of them could be risky, and those who were relying on Hillman also should be nervous about his health and the amount of snaps he will see when he does return to the lineup. Best advice: Stay away from the Broncos’ running backs.

Jennings and Mathews both were top-10 running backs the second half of last season and likely could be again this year. Both are returning from knee injuries to teams that need a boost in the running game.

Branden Oliver has struggled in recent weeks for San Diego, and Mathews will be a must-start this week against the porous Oakland Raiders’ defense. Mathews won’t fix all the recent problems in San Diego, but he’s a great start.

Jennings is expected to play this week after limited practice a week ago and an increased practice load this week for the New York Giants. Jennings is a great pass catcher and also can run between the tackles 20 times a game. His replacement, Andre Williams, has just 55 yards on 25 carries the last two weeks, though he does have a pair of touchdowns. But Williams hasn’t rushed for more than 50 yards in a game or scored since Week 5 against Atlanta. Williams still could steal some goal-line carries from Jennings, but expect the Giants to rely on their returning starter more and more.

Jackson was limited in his first game back last week in Buffalo. He rushed only three times for 10 yards but added 39 receiving yards and four catches. Jackson is the best back on the roster for Buffalo, and, with Kyle Orton at quarterback, the Bills will need Jackson to stay healthy to make the offense more functional. Though Anthony Dixon still may get some of the early-down work, expect Jackson to take over the majority of running back production.

Wide Receiver

All season I’ve been praising the production of rookie wide receivers Odell Beckham Jr., Kelvin Benjamin, Martavis Bryant, Brandin Cooks, Mike Evans, Allen Robinson and Sammy Watkins.

Last week Jordan Matthews was mentioned in this column, and he went off Monday night for 138 yards and two touchdowns on seven catches for Philadelphia. Matthews still is widely available in leagues and needs to be added, along with all the other mentioned rookies if available, with the exception of Robinson, who was ruled out for the season Tuesday with a foot injury. Matthews now has three touchdowns the last two weeks and five this year. Sanchez threw to him three more times than Jeremy Maclin last week, and Matthews certainly is ahead of Riley Cooper on the pecking order.

Tight End

Another player mentioned last week who is worth repeating is Mychal Rivera in Oakland. He caught a garbage time touchdown against Denver on Sunday, and he has 14 receptions for 102 yards and three touchdowns the last two weeks. He has emerged as a consistent option the last three weeks, and he provides fantasy owners a quality option. If you have the injured Vernon Davis or a tight end on a bye, go with Rivera, who reminds me of Jordan Reed a year ago.

Survivor Pool

The best bet this week is the San Diego Chargers at home against the Oakland Raiders. San Diego needs to right the ship, and the winless Raiders are a perfect matchup to do so.

John Livingston is a sports writer at The Durango Herald and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association. He can be reached at jlivingston@durangoherald.com or on Twitter @jlivi2.