Jason La Canfora· Aug 23, 2026
La Canfora predicts the Ravens will keep several young players on their practice squad — DL Kaimon Rucker, LB Dominic DeLuca, LB Ethan Burke, CB Amani Oruwariye, OT Gerad Lichtenhan and QB Joe Fagnano — and expects the team to make at least one trade from its surplus of cornerbacks.
“These are some interesting cases of youngsters I believe they will want to keep on the PS”
published in writing · Sports Illustrated · read the original →
6 checkable claims — 6 roster spot calls — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet.
It names 7 players and teams, each linked to their own record.
3 of 6 have settled so far, averaging 0 out of 100, against 66.7 for a naive guess at the same calls.
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Who this take is about
6 checkable claims in this take
Each one is scored on its own against the published methodology. A pundit naming several outcomes is graded on each, not on all-or-nothing.
- Roster Spot CallsEthan BurkeBaltimore RavensAug 23, 2026
Ethan Burke to make the roster
“LB Dominic DeLuca/Ethan Burke — These are some interesting cases of youngsters I believe they will want to keep on the PS”
Miss · 0Scored 0a naive guess scored 100-200 skillHow this was scored
- club:
- BAL
- skill:
- -200
- player:
- Ethan Burke
- season:
- 2026
- claimed:
- he lands on the practice squad
- accuracy:
- 0
- baseline:
- 100
- difficulty:
- 2
- the naive guess:
- he was on somebody's 53 last season, so he makes one again
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks on the53:
- 3
- weeks left when called:
- 18
- first week on the53:
- 1
- weeks on the practice squad:
- 0
- Roster Spot CallsJoe FagnanoBaltimore RavensAug 23, 2026
Joe Fagnano to make the roster
“With so many veteran QBs about to be cut, it would be pretty surprising if the Ravens weren’t able to usher him right back to their practice squad.”
Miss · 0Scored 0a naive guess scored 0+0 skillHow this was scored
- club:
- BAL
- skill:
- 0
- player:
- Joe Fagnano
- season:
- 2026
- claimed:
- he does not make the 53
- accuracy:
- 0
- baseline:
- 0
- difficulty:
- 2
- the naive guess:
- he was on somebody's 53 last season, so he makes one again
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks on the53:
- 3
- weeks left when called:
- 18
- first week on the53:
- 1
- weeks on the practice squad:
- 0
Gerad Lichtenhan to make the roster
“OT Gerad Lichtenhan — These are some interesting cases of youngsters I believe they will want to keep on the PS”
Miss · 0Scored 0a naive guess scored 100-200 skillHow this was scored
- club:
- BAL
- skill:
- -200
- player:
- Gerad Lichtenhan
- season:
- 2026
- claimed:
- he lands on the practice squad
- accuracy:
- 0
- baseline:
- 100
- difficulty:
- 2
- the naive guess:
- he was on somebody's 53 last season, so he makes one again
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks on the53:
- 1
- weeks left when called:
- 18
- first week on the53:
- 2
- weeks on the practice squad:
- 2
- Roster Spot CallsDominic DeLucaBaltimore RavensAug 23, 2026
Dominic DeLuca to make the roster
“LB Dominic DeLuca/Ethan Burke — These are some interesting cases of youngsters I believe they will want to keep on the PS”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- Roster Spot CallsAmani OruwariyeBaltimore RavensAug 23, 2026
Amani Oruwariye to make the roster
“CB Amani Oruwariye — These are some interesting cases of youngsters I believe they will want to keep on the PS”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- Roster Spot CallsKaimon RuckerBaltimore RavensAug 23, 2026
Kaimon Rucker to make the roster
“These are some interesting cases of youngsters I believe they will want to keep on the PS: DL Kaimon Rucker ... This roster is just too deep and too healthy on the defensive side for him to crack it.”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
What others said about the same people
- Chris SimmsScore Predictions · Baltimore RavensHit · 98Simms went through the entire Week 3 slate with straight-up winners and predicted final scores, taking Jacksonville, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Detroit, Houston, Carolina, Kansas City, Seattle, the Giants, Baltimore, New Orleans, Minnesota, San Francisco, Denver and Philadelphia. He also expected Zay Flowers and Puka Nacua to sit, Kyler Murray to play, and said Marvin Harrison Jr. projects as no better than a good No. 2 or high-end No. 3 receiver.
- Nate TiceGame Outcome Picks · Baltimore RavensHit · 100Tice matched his guest on every Week 3 game, picking the Ravens over the Cowboys, the Jaguars over the Patriots in a close game, the Broncos to upset the Rams, the Raiders over the Saints, the Eagles over the Bears and the Lions over the Jets.
- Steven RuizGame Outcome Picks · Baltimore RavensHit · 100Previewing Week 3, Ruiz picked the Ravens to beat the Cowboys in Brazil, Jacksonville over New England in a low-scoring game, an upset by the Broncos over the Rams, the Raiders over the Saints, the Eagles over the Bears, the Lions over the Jets, and his Hail Mary that Houston beats Indianapolis by two touchdowns.
- Tracy SandlerGame Outcome Picks · Baltimore RavensHit · 100Sandler predicted Caleb Williams would miss two to three weeks with his hamstring injury, and in the picks segment took the Broncos, Ravens, Vikings, Bills and Bears (switching off an earlier Tampa pick).
- Carmen VitaliGame Outcome Picks · Baltimore RavensHit · 100In the show's weekly picks segment Vitali took the Broncos over the Rams, the Ravens over the Cowboys in Rio, Tampa at home over Minnesota, the Bills over the Chargers and the Eagles on the road in Chicago. She also agreed that Caleb Williams would be out roughly two to three weeks.
- Nick WrightScore Predictions · Baltimore RavensHit · 100On his Week 3 pick show, Nick Wright gave straight-up final-score predictions for five games, calling blowouts by Seattle over Washington and Kansas City over Miami, a Jacksonville home win over New England, a narrow New Orleans win over the Raiders and a low-scoring Baltimore win over Dallas in Brazil. He also called Seattle the best team in the NFL with the league's best defense.
More roster spot calls
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
- Jeff KerrRoster Spot Calls · Zach ErtzMiss · 0Kerr expects Zach Ertz to be elevated from the practice squad and play in the Eagles' Week 3 Monday night game against the Bears, and to serve as Philadelphia's clear TE1 with Dallas Goedert out.
- Jeff KerrRoster Spot Calls · Chance CampbellHit · 100Kerr ranks the Eagles' eight undrafted free agents by their chances of making the initial 53-man roster, with Kapena Gushiken the most likely and predicts at least one UDFA makes the 53. He also forecasts practice squad spots for Zion Wilson, Deontae Lawson and Maximus Pulley, and a release for long snapper Rocco Underwood.
- Carter BahnsRoster Spot Calls · Jeshaun JonesMiss · 0A CBS Sports piece expects suspended Vikings receiver Jeshaun Jones to lose his roster battle and be cut by the Aug. 30 deadline, given Minnesota's established receiver group.
- Jeff KerrRoster Spot Calls · Chance CampbellHit · 100Kerr's third Eagles 53-man roster projection names the players he expects to make the team at each position, with Cole Payton, Elijah Moore, Johnny Wilson, Gabe Hall and Rocco Underwood left off; he also predicts Underwood is exposed to waivers and returns to the practice squad, Deontae Lawson lands on the practice squad, and Eli Stowers is the TE3.
- Jeff KerrRoster Spot Calls · Chance CampbellHit · 100Kerr's updated 53-man roster projection for the Eagles after eight training camp practices, naming which players make the team at each position plus depth-chart placements like Wicks as WR2, Mundt as TE2, Kendall as third guard, Bell as third tackle, and Epps/Carter battling to start at safety.
- Ralph VentreRoster Spot Calls · Christian BenfordMiss · 0Ventre expects Christian Benford's toe injury to sideline him for at least the Week 4 game against New England, and believes the Bills will have to add a cornerback to the 53-man roster this week — likely by moving Benford to injured reserve — with practice squad rookie Kani Walker the most likely player elevated.