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From the “Inside Coverage<\/a>” 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.<\/p>\n The trio agreed: this situation will be quietly swept under the rug, and once Tucker is out of sight on the field, he\u2019ll quickly be out of mind for the league and most fans. It\u2019s a process we’ve seen before, and, barring any criminal developments, the Ravens and the NFL will likely move on with little more said.<\/p>\n The Ravens were very deliberate in labeling Tucker\u2019s release a \u201cfootball decision,\u201d repeating that language in their official statement. As Epstein pointed out: “When people actually make football decisions, they don\u2019t 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).<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Schwab noted the \u201ccoldness\u201d and legal calculation behind the Ravens\u2019 language, emphasizing they want to avoid liability or being caught in denial if it turns out they knew something.<\/p>\n Justin Tucker is no longer with the Ravens. (Photo by G Fiume\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n (G Fiume via Getty Images)Avoiding the allegations discussion involving Tucker<\/p>\n The “Inside Coverage” trio’s conversation points out that the team and league generally prefer to \u201cdance around\u201d these topics and rarely confront them head-on unless absolutely forced. As Schwab says, the playbook is to \u201cskate from this without ever having to really deal with the allegations,\u201d and Fitz adds that the league’s investigation and eventual press releases likely will be \u201cburied on a Friday afternoon when nobody\u2019s paying attention.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Ultimately, both the Ravens\u2019 move and the NFL\u2019s likely course of action highlight that, when the calculus tips toward distraction or diminished value (and especially if a player\u2019s performance is declining), teams and the league will cut ties swiftly and quietly. Pride in \u201cno distractions\u201d outweighs almost every other consideration.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Tucker’s release is a microcosm of how the Ravens \u2014 and the NFL as a whole \u2014 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.<\/p>\n To hear more NFL discussions, tune into Inside Coverage<\/a> on Apple<\/a>, Spotify<\/a> or YouTube<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(This article was written with the assistance of Castmagic, an AI tool, and reviewed by our editorial team…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":29854,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2026],"tags":[117,563,7,2502,2504,6992,1084,6,2850],"class_list":{"0":"post-29853","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-baltimore-ravens","9":"tag-deshaun-watson","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-frank-schwab","12":"tag-jason-fitz","13":"tag-jori-epstein","14":"tag-justin-tucker","15":"tag-nfl","16":"tag-the-ravens"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114464061142005797","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29853","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29853"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29853\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29854"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29853"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29853"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29853"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"BALTIMORE,](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/138660e0-2ae0-11f0-baf9-6ed579b4756f.jpeg\"\/)
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