Dallas welcomes Jaydon Blue back from a heel bruise, cleared to make his preseason debut Friday against Atlanta. The fifth-round Texas product had been turning heads in camp with first-team reps and a spectacular one-handed grab, signaling the burst Dallas hopes to lean on. His return comes as Dallas’ backfield battles for touches intensify with Miles Sanders, Javonte Williams and Phil Mafah in the mix. The Cowboys’ ground game languished for stretches in preseason, underscoring Blue’s potential role once the regular season opens against Philadelphia.

Blue’s blend of speed and pass-catching could juice Dallas’ run game and offer a versatile option on quarterback runs and screens. If he seizes reps Friday, it may foreshadow a larger early-season role, though the backfield remains crowded and health will dictate carries. Fantasy managers should monitor Friday’s usage for a clearer read on workload and potential touches in Week 1.

Two male Vikings cheerleaders sparked a firestorm after the team announced their addition, drawing fire from fans and a surprising political response from U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville, who called the move woke and a threat to masculinity in the sport. The chatter underscores how branding and culture wars swirl around NFL marketing decisions, potentially shaping fan engagement and attendance.

Rams and Ravens previously ventured into male-cheerleader territory, and Auburn’s cheer photos highlighted broader shifts in football culture. The piece notes some Vikings season-ticket holders have canceled, signaling that narrative risk can touch revenue and buzz—yet there’s no sign the on-field product or fantasy-relevant roles will change soon.

For fantasy managers, the drama matters mainly as context. Minnesota’s projection remains centered on offense and health, not pom-poms. Narrative volatility could spark early-season chatter, but the core fantasy engine is still skill players, schemes, and schedule, not the optics of cheerleading.

RotoBaller’s updated 2025 fantasy football kicker rankings spotlight a tight top tier led by Brandon Aubrey, Jake Bates and Cameron Dicker. The Kicker Tier table places these game-changing specialists at the front, followed by a solid second tier that includes Harrison Butker, Matt Gay, Ka'imi Fairbairn and Chris Boswell. The list also notes depth in later tiers with kickers like Jake Elliott and Will Reichard offering stable floor in varied scoring settings. This piece doubles as a practical map for early-round kicker targets and tier-based drafting for 14 formats, including PPR and standard.

Preseason headlines fuel the narrative: Tyler Loop seized the Ravens’ starting job after calibrating five preseason makes; Jake Moody delivered a strong SF showing, though fantasy managers remain cautious about pendulum-like consistency; Younghoe Koo’s Falcons job remains a talking point amid an unclear offensive outlook; Tyler Bass’s health updates shape Bills’ Week 1 planning; Panthers’ Ryan Fitzgerald is pushing for the job as undrafted rookie hype grows. The takeaway for fantasy players is to treat kickers as position-differentiators with explicit tier strategies, injury tracking and roster depth planning driving draft-day decisions.

Bottom line: lock in a top-tier option, monitor preseason turnover, and align your kicker picks with offense quality and red-zone efficiency to maximize weekly upside in 2025.

Cleveland anticipates Joe Flacco’s first prominent action of the preseason as the Browns wind down exhibition play, aiming to lock in the starter role he earned over a quartet of challengers—Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel, Shedeur Sanders and Tyler Huntley. Flacco plans to take some snaps in the Aug. 23 finale against the Rams, using the appearance as a mental and strategic tune-up before Week 1 vs. Cincinnati. Injuries have kept the others limited in practice and games, with Sanders out due to an oblique issue, Gabriel hampered by a hamstring and Pickett dealing with a hamstring setback. The Browns hope this dress rehearsal helps the offense establish an identity, balance, and rhythm, particularly after Flacco’s prior Browns tenure and near-playoff push in 2023. A Week 2 trip to Baltimore looms, revisiting a franchise he spent 11 seasons with and that once yielded a Super Bowl MVP moment, a subplot that adds intrigue to Cleveland’s early-season trajectory.