Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Devontez “Tez” Walker is the newest player pulling up a chair at Jimmy's Famous Seafood for WJZ's Purple Playbook, the station's monthly live sports show taped in the upper level of the Dundalk restaurant on Holabird Avenue. Walker joins WJZ's Alex Glaze and Rick Ritter, along with former Ravens receiver and two-time Super Bowl champion Torrey Smith, for the family-friendly taping as the show returns for another season at the seafood spot.
According to CBS News Baltimore, Jimmy's hosts one Purple Playbook show per month, with doors opening at 5 p.m. and filming beginning at 7:30 p.m. on show nights. Tonight's taping requires no tickets, but the remaining dates on the calendar — October 14, November 18, and December 15 — do require them, with the outlet noting those dates are tentative and subject to change. Tickets and reservations are available through Jimmy's Famous Seafood, and finished episodes air on WJZ and stream on CBS News Baltimore on Friday and Saturday nights.
A Rotating Cast of Ravens Talent
Walker isn't the first current Raven to sit in the co-host seat. Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely served as the featured player host for the show during the 2025 season, according to CBS News, continuing a tradition that has also featured receiver Zay Flowers and running back J.K. Dobbins in past seasons. Hoodline previously reported on Flowers's new Ravens deal, noting he had hosted the Jimmy's taping during his 2023 rookie season.
Walker arrived in Baltimore as a fourth-round pick, 113th overall, in the 2024 NFL Draft out of the University of North Carolina. He logged limited action as a rookie.
Leading the Show Booth
Glaze, who leads the broadcast alongside Ritter and Smith, was named WJZ Sports Director in September 2024 following the retirement of longtime Baltimore broadcaster Mark Viviano, according to DCRTV. Glaze is an Ellicott City native and Towson University graduate who joined the station in August 2022. Smith brings his own championship pedigree to the table: he retired from the NFL in September 2019 after eight seasons, winning Super Bowl XLVII with the Ravens in 2013 and Super Bowl LII with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2018, per the Philadelphia Eagles' own announcement of his retirement.
Jimmy's Deep Ties to Ravens Culture
Jimmy's Famous Seafood co-owner John Minadakis said Walker is committed to excellence on and off the field, and said the monthly event brings fans and families together, according to CBS News Baltimore. Minadakis has long cultivated ties between the restaurant and Ravens personnel.
Those Ravens connections run deeper than the Purple Playbook set. Former head coach John Harbaugh paid the dinner bill for seven surrounding tables of patrons, totaling more than $2,000, while filming a promotional video at Jimmy's in February 2021 for The Famous Fund, according to Baltimore Magazine.
WJZ is part of a monthly tradition that mixes NFL star power with neighborhood restaurant hospitality, giving Ravens fans a free, family-friendly night out this season while Walker works toward a bigger role on the field.
