Tyler Huntley shone in his first start of the 2025 NFL season, completing 17 of 22 passes for 186 yards and one touchdown and leading the Baltimore Ravens to a 30-16 win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday.
Huntley started in place of Lamar Jackson, who is still dealing with a hamstring injury.
While it might have seemed obvious in retrospect that Jackson wouldn’t play, you wouldn’t have thought so from the Ravens’ initial injury status report on Friday. Jackson was listed as limited in practice on Wednesday and Thursday but was upgraded to a full participant in Friday’s practice. However, in a very unusual move, the team announced Saturday that he had actually been limited on Friday as well and was officially out for Sunday’s game.
After much speculation and eyebrow-raising, the Ravens had to release a second statement on Saturday, explaining that they had mistakenly listed him as a full participant even though he practiced against the scout team, not the first team. They also tried to make it clear that it was an honest mistake, not an attempt at gamesmanship, as the Bears prepared to face Jackson, potentially.
Given the implications of the status change for betting lines, coupled with the timing of an NBA betting scandal, many immediately wondered whether the NFL could get involved to find out what happened.
According to Pro Football Talk and NBC Sports’ Mike Florio, not only is the NFL going to look into what happened, but it might also send a message through some heavy punishment.
“John Harbaugh, the coach of the team, told reporters after the game it was an honest mistake, but that still sets the Ravens up for some sort of a sanction,” Florio told Maria Taylor on NBC’s Football Night in America. “The question is, when the league looks into this, will they determine there was some an effort to conceal his true status by saying he fully participated? Maybe the Bears would think he’s going to play. If they find something like that, the punishment could be worse.
“For now, the Ravens are looking at fines. They’re looking at the potential loss of draft picks. And even suspensions are on the table based upon what the NFL may find out. A source told me today the NFL understands, given what happened in the NBA, it’s very bad optics. As the source said, it’s an opportunity for the league to make a very strong statement on a very important topic and look for all other teams to go back and look at their procedures and make sure they get it right going forward.”
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.