Category: American Style Football

(This article was written with the assistance of Castmagic, an AI tool, and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy. Please reach out to us if you notice any mistakes.)

Justin Tucker’s release by the Baltimore Ravens offers a glimpse into the team's culture and how the NFL tends to handle uncomfortable or controversial situations — especially when legal or personal conduct issues are involved.

From the "Inside Coverage" podcast, Yahoo Sports' Jason Fitz, Frank Schwab and Jori Epstein discussed the complexity of the decision and what it really says about the Ravens and, by extension, the league. 

The trio agreed: this situation will be quietly swept under the rug, and once Tucker is out of sight on the field, he’ll quickly be out of mind for the league and most fans. It’s a process we've seen before, and, barring any criminal developments, the Ravens and the NFL will likely move on with little more said.

Ravens explain their 'football decision'

The Ravens were very deliberate in labeling Tucker’s release a “football decision,” repeating that language in their official statement. As Epstein pointed out: "When people actually make football decisions, they don’t usually say this is a football decision." This suggests the organization was using that phrase to avoid directly addressing the serious off-field allegations against Tucker (multiple accusations of improper conduct from massage therapists, which is being investigated by the league). 

Epstein also highlighted that the Ravens have a history of employing players with sexual assault or domestic violence allegations. This paints a picture of a team that often chooses to manage and sidestep these issues rather than taking a clear moral stance.

Schwab noted the “coldness” and legal calculation behind the Ravens’ language, emphasizing they want to avoid liability or being caught in denial if it turns out they knew something.

G Fiume via Getty Images

Avoiding the allegations discussion involving Tucker

The "Inside Coverage" trio's conversation points out that the team and league generally prefer to “dance around” these topics and rarely confront them head-on unless absolutely forced. As Schwab says, the playbook is to “skate from this without ever having to really deal with the allegations,” and Fitz adds that the league's investigation and eventual press releases likely will be “buried on a Friday afternoon when nobody’s paying attention.”

The crew also brought up the comparison to Deshaun Watson, noting the selective outrage and scrutiny based on position and value to a team. There's a cynicism around who the NFL chooses to protect and for how long, suggesting that stars get more leeway than role players or aging veterans.

Ultimately, both the Ravens’ move and the NFL’s likely course of action highlight that, when the calculus tips toward distraction or diminished value (and especially if a player’s performance is declining), teams and the league will cut ties swiftly and quietly. Pride in “no distractions” outweighs almost every other consideration.

Tucker's release is a microcosm of how the Ravens — and the NFL as a whole — prioritize their business interests and public image over transparency. These situations are usually handled with strategic PR, legal maneuvering, and an eye on minimizing controversy rather than addressing the root problem or making any sort of example for better conduct.

To hear more NFL discussions, tune into Inside Coverage on Apple, Spotify or YouTube.

(This article was written with the assistance of Castmagic, an AI tool, and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy. Please reach out to us if you notice any mistakes.)

When building a dominant fantasy football roster, nailing your first-round pick is essential — and, according to the recent debate between Matt Harmon and Dalton Del Don on the Yahoo Fantasy Forecast, nobody is better set up to explode as the top overall player than Dallas Cowboys receiver, CeeDee Lamb.

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Let’s break down exactly what sets up Lamb for a fantasy football takeover this season.

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Del Don put it simply: Lamb had "135 catches, 1,750 yards and 12 TDs” in 2023. That’s already elite territory. But take a look at what’s happened in Dallas since then. The entire Cowboys receiver room behind Lamb is a collection of question marks: Jalen Tolbert, Jonathan Mingo, Jalen Brooks, KaVontae Turpin, Ryan Flournoy. It's honestly hard to imagine a bigger gulf between a WR1 and the rest of a depth chart in the NFL right now.

That leads to possibly historic target volume. Del Don even says, “I think he could approach 200 targets this season.” For context, any WR pushing near 200 looks is an automatic top-three option — think peak Davante Adams — especially when you have Lamb’s elite mix of route-running and separation skills.

Lamb doesn’t just project to earn targets; he cashes them in. Harmon points out that, with no other true alpha options and quarterback Dak Prescott throwing his way, the Cowboys have every incentive to funnel the offense through Lamb: “This is the type of situation too where it's like, who else are they going to throw to? ... why would they throw to other guys when they have CeeDee Lamb there?”

It’s not just about opportunity. Over the last couple of years, Lamb has already proven he’s one of the top playmakers in the league. As Dalton notes, “CeeDee Lamb has the most PPR points per game among all wide receivers since 2003”, even while playing through quarterback injuries at times. Last year, he was the focal point, and this offseason only made the picture clearer.

Usually, you can nitpick a No. 1 receiver’s situation — maybe there’s a new star rookie added, or a veteran threatening to siphon targets, or a running game strong enough to limit volume overhead. That’s not the case here. Harmon and Del Don both repeatedly stress just how much this offense is set up to lean completely on Lamb:

• No WRs drafted this season

• Other pass-catchers on the roster are purely dart throws

• Even if someone like Amari Cooper is theoretically added, Lamb would still “comfortably clear like 160 targets.”

Fantasy drafters have spent all offseason lining up Justin Jefferson or Ja’Marr Chase as their unquestioned No. 1 WR picks. Del Don? He’s “closer to moving [Lamb] to my WR1 than I am No. 3.”

Why? The Jefferson–Lamb debate is especially interesting this year. While both are awesome, Jefferson is breaking in a new quarterback (J.J. McCarthy). As Harmon puts it: “We've just never seen him play yet. It's a new variable there.” Lamb, meanwhile, has his proven chemistry with Prescott, and the Cowboys offense isn’t changing.

Lamb is only “half a year older than Chase,” meaning he’s still in his absolute physical prime. Whether you play full-PPR or half-PPR, both Harmon and Del Don agree — no receiver in football projects for a better combo of safe, elite target share and monster upside.

In short? CeeDee Lamb fits the exact mold of a league-winning fantasy WR1: he’s an elite player, at his peak age, with huge target share, in a pass-happy offense and zero real competition for touches.