2 Retirements, 2 Very Different Careers

"Former RB Frank Gore" is going to take some getting used to...

In today’s Fantasy Life Newsletter:

We told you guys the other day that the Puppy tournament on Underdog Fantasy is filling fast and we weren't kidding. It's now nearly 60% full:

If you want to take a crack at drafting a first-place team worth $75,000, Fantasy Life readers get up to a $100 deposit match with promo code LIFE. 

A week from today we'll be launching a fun best ball summer adventure around these parts, so keep your eyes peeled for that and make sure you're in drafting shape. 

Two NFL legends retired this past week, so our Senior Analyst & Director of Social, Kendall Valenzuela, decided to give them a proper send off...

Two Retirements, Two Very Different Careers

Longtime NFL QB Ryan Fitzpatrick and Pro Bowl RB Frank Gore both retired last Thursday, taking one last bow on two memorable (and very different) careers. 

Gore signed a one-day contract with the 49ers, where he spent the first 10 years of his career, before his announcement. Fitzpatrick, who spent last season in Washington, sent a text message to teammates that read: “Forever grateful for the magical ride.”

Both were drafted in 2005 — Gore (a third-round pick) spent the first 10 years of his 16-year career with the 49ers. Fitzpatrick (a seventh-round pick) found himself on nine different teams during his 17-year career.

Both had legendary careers.

One walked away as the No. 3 all-time leading rusher in NFL history. The other went to Harvard. (Joking).

But really, Gore’s next move will be his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The list of accomplishments is long, but here are a few:

• 16,000 career yards rushing

• Nine career 1,000-yard seasons

• Five Pro Bowl selections

• One of 23 players in league history with 100 total touchdowns

Gore was really the definition of consistency at running back.  

While Fitzpatrick’s career was obviously different, he stood the test of time, and his NFL tenure was a clinic in adaptation.

He started 147 games, throwing for 34,990 yards and 223 touchdowns with 169 interceptions.

Fitzpatrick started for 28 percent of NFL teams, and that is not just because of his veteran presence or the character he brings to the locker room. It truly was a career of perseverance.

He never earned a Pro Bowl spot or played in a postseason game, but you can’t disagree that “Fitzmagic” is one of the most memorable players in recent NFL history. I mean, the guy was just shirtless during the Bills’ AFC wild-card game. 

Fun fact: With Fitzpatrick and Gore retiring, Aaron Rodgers is now the only remaining player from the 2005 NFL Draft class who is under contract for the 2022 season. 

So, a tip of the cap to two men who put their stamp on the NFL forever. One thing may be certain, we will never see another Frank Gore or Ryan Fitzpatrick again.

🦅 The Eagles are going to look different this year. Brandon Lee Gowton passed along some interesting notes about Jalen Hurts and the offense from a recent OTA practice.  

📷 What a cool photo. I had never seen this snap of Patrick Peterson staring down Calvin Johnson. 

💪 Wen Gronk, Day 69. Still no official word on Gronk's return, but the Bucs are "optimistic" about it.

📆 How many games will Deshaun Watson be suspended? His lead counsel thinks the league will make a decision he won't like. 

🐶 Browns re-sign D'Ernest Johnson. He's the third back on Cleveland, but talented enough to start for a handful of teams. 

📈 Frank Gore retired with the 3rd most rushing yards in NFL history. Watch him climb up the ranks in real-time. 

In our new spotlight series, we’ll be showcasing some of our favorite content creators and personalities across the fantasy space. To kick things off, there’s no one better to feature than Scott Fish, a fantasy industry mainstay who perfectly embodies the ethos of creating for others. 

In addition to launching the now-massive industry pro-am tournament that is the Scott Fish Bowl, Scott has received numerous awards over the years, including the Matthew Berry Game Changer Award, the FSGA Humanitarian of the Year, and The Athletic’s Person of the Year. 

How did you first get into the fantasy space? In the 1990s, I created a league type now known as “devy leagues” aka developmental dynasty leagues, which is a specific form of dynasty football where managers are able to draft college and sometimes high school players. After asking around everywhere and learning no one else was doing this, I decided to give it a go. 

How did The Scott Fish Bowl Start? After a few years, I started my own site called FFOasis. It was the first site to feature devy articles, rankings, and podcasts. At the time, the format was starting to gain popularity, and because no other sites were covering devy, we started to get noticed. 

After a while, we created the FFOasis Invitational league, which eventually became The Scott Fish Bowl.

What does the Scott Fish Bowl mean to you? At the age of 35, I had a heart attack (more specifically myopericarditis). This can be deadly since other otherwise-healthy young folks tend to brush off the symptoms. This experience left me feeling lucky to be alive and lucky to watch my son grow up. 

It’s the kind of life event that really helps you see things more clearly and re-evaluate things. I wanted to be the best possible version of myself, the best role model I could be for my young child (now two kids) and for others. I wanted to help make a difference.

Over the years doing fantasy football content, I always suggested to people to “take one entry fee from your league’s total prize pool and donate it. 

My idea is that your league won’t miss it, but together as a community, we can do a ton of good. I truly feel that if we all banded together, this huge, amazing community could do something wonderful.

Every year, the SFB tournament has grown exponentially with the support of the fantasy football industry coming together around a fun event and a worthwhile cause. 

The SFB now features every big name in the fantasy industry, many celebrities, and former professional athletes. Thanks to all of the support and attention, it raises tens of thousands of dollars every year for multiple charities.

What else are you working on? As you can probably tell with Devy and SFB, I love coming up with unique league styles and settings. 

This ultimately led to starting a commissioner-focused podcast with Ryan McDowell called Commission Impossible. The podcast serves as a resource for commissioners, as well as a playground for brainstorming new ideas for leagues. We pride ourselves on making evergreen content that fantasy players and commissioners can listen to for cool league ideas or ways to resolve issues. Commissioner content has truly become one of my passions.

I also run a fantasy contest site called SafeLeagues, which specializes in dynasty leagues but also hosts redraft and other unique league formats.

Lastly, I am a co-host of the longest-running fantasy football show out there, Fantasy Football Weekly with Paul Charchian, which is now entering its 28th year. It is broadcast all over the country, but can also be found on iHeart Radio as a weekly podcast. Chopping it up with those guys and providing helpful information is my favorite two hours of every week. 

What do you like to do outside of fantasy? The most important thing in my life is my family and close friends. I have a “home league” that is now entering its 31st year and it’s how we’ve stayed connected throughout the years. Thankfully, now that our lives are slowing down a bit, we’ve been able to reconnect on a deeper level outside of the league. This year I’ve put more emphasis on creating a better balance between my work and family life. 

What is your favorite thing about fantasy? I love how fantasy kept us together through that stretch where everyone was busy with work, babies, and whatever. That league kept us together. That’s what I’m most excited for this year. That live draft in my home league, but also any live local league drafts where I’m able to connect to people and help others connect. That’s why #SFB12 has live events this year, to bring the community together and connect us on a deeper level.

Favorite fantasy moment? There are so many to choose from, but I’ll do one of the silly ones. I started playing fantasy in 1992 and it was my dynasty league that has been running for 31 years. During the 1995 rookie draft I drafted J.J. Stokes and proclaimed him the next Jerry Rice. I may have stood on a chair to do it. 

I still occasionally get a J.J. Stokes football card as a gift from friends teasing me about that one. The things that continue to come up are always the best. One of our leaguemates still gets roasted annually for drafting Jake Plummer in the 3rd round. Now everyone gets to know about that pick, Jeremy. 

Thank you to Scott Fish for everything he does for the fantasy community. Follow him on Twitter and stay tuned to the Fantasy Life account for your chance to win a spot in this year’s Scott Fish Bowl. 

The season is fast approaching, which means it is time for us to get to know all of these NFL teams and who we should be drafting and fading after a busy offseason. In today's team preview, Geoff takes a look at the Washington Commanders

The Washington Commanders had a disappointing 2021 by most standards. They were somewhat of a trendy underdog pick to win the NFC East last year but finished their second season under head coach Ron Rivera at 7-10 and third in the division. 

This year, any hype they had built up after their 2020 season is pretty much gone, and they enter 2022 with just a 7.0 win total (per VegasInsider). While Rivera will be back running things, the Commanders will feature a completely different element at quarterback after they added Carson Wentz from the Colts over the off-season.

⚙️ Offseason changes

• Retirement of Fitzpatrick and addition of Wentz at QB. While Taylor Heinicke (who started 15 games for Washington in 2021) will return, Wentz is expected to start. 

• Drafted Jahan Dotson 16th overall, which was considered by many to be a reach. Dotson is expected to start alongside Terry McLaurin with Curtis Samuel working in and out of the slot. 

• Brought back J.D. McKissic on a two-year deal and drafted Brian Robinson Jr., who is expected to share work behind early-down back Antonio Gibson. 

• Starting TE Logan Thomas is still recovering from a late-season ACL injury. Unknown if he will be ready to start in Week 1. 

✨ Team vibes

Maybe the most significant move for the Commanders in the offseason was that they lost the no-name, Football Team moniker. A Washington Post poll found only 36% of Washington fans actually liked the name change.

This will be the third year for Ron Rivera and the crew in Washington. They have hitched themselves to the Carson Wentz bandwagon, a quarterback who was cited as disliking his own team’s success in 2016 when he was on the sidelines with injury. Nice.

Over the last two years, Wentz has taken 82 sacks and has an average completion percentage under 62%. Wentz also ranked just 21st in yards per pass attempt last year in Indianapolis, despite playing behind an above-average Offensive Line.

The Commanders have yet to get true breakout years from either Terry McLaurin or Antonio Gibson on offense, two players who feel like they have more to offer. McLaurin’s contract extension is a cloud hanging over the team and he was notably absent from OTAs in May. 

🎯Draft targets

• Antonio Gibson (Underdog Fantasy ADP 65.9)

• Terry McLaurin (Underdog Fantasy ADP 46.0)

• Jahan Dotson (Underdog Fantasy ADP 143.8)

👋Draft fades

• Carson Wentz (Underdog Fantasy ADP 202.0)

• Logan Thomas (Underdog Fantasy ADP 193.5)