Tyler Loop is the first option to take the place of the historic kicker
Owings Mills, Maryland – in an abrupt ending for one of the best races in the Baltimore Ravens, The team released the kicker Justin Tucker on Monday, saying goodbye to the most accurate kicker of the NFL in the middle of an investigation of the League for inappropriate sexual behavior.
“Sometimes, decisions in American football are incredibly difficult, and this is one of those cases,” he said Eric DeCostaExecutive Vice President and General Manager of the Ravensin a statement. “Considering our current template, we have made the difficult decision to free Justin Tucker”.
“Justin created many significant and unforgettable moments in the history of Ravens. His reliability, concentration, thrust, resilience and extraordinary talent made him one of the best kickers in the league for more than a decade. We appreciate Justin's numerous contributions while playing for the Ravens. We sincerely wish him his family the best in this new stage of his lives. ”
This decision occurs less than two months after the team president, Sashi Brown, announced that the Ravens would wait for the NFL He will end his investigation to make a decision on Tucker. However, uncertainty about Tucker's future increased on April 26, when Baltimore made the historic decision to select the kicker Tyler Loop In the sixth round of the draft of the NFL. This was the first time in the 30 years of the franchise that recruited a kicker.
Justin Tucker, 35 years old, has been accused of inappropriate behavior by 16 masseuses of eight spas and high -end well -being centers in the area of Baltimoreaccording to The Baltimore Banner. All the alleged inappropriate behaviors occurred, as reported, between 2012 and 2016, the first five seasons of Tucker in the NFL.
Tucker's behavior, as reported The Banner For the first time four months ago, he caused some masseuses to refuse to work with him again and that two spas forbid him to return.
Justin Tucker He has denied any accusation. They denounced irregularities, qualifying the accusations of “unequivocally false” and describing Banner's article as “desperate flesh for the sensationalist press.” Tucker's lawyers have affirmed that access to the two spas has never been forbidden.
In February, the NFL He began his investigation when he started talking to some of the women who accused Tucker, according to a source to ESPN. The commissioner of the NFL, Roger Goodellhe described the accusations against Tucker as “serious”, but indicated that there would be no news until the investigation was completed.
Justin Tucker He was fired with three remaining years of an extension of the contract of four years and 22 million dollars, which made him the best paid kicking in the league at that time. The Ravens They will not have to pay their 4.2 million salary in 2025, the first year of their contract in which nothing was guaranteed. Baltimore You can get 4.2 million in salary space this year if you designate it as fired after June 1, which would divide your 7.5 million money dead in two years.
When dispensing with Tucker, Ravens They will have a new kicker for the first time in 14 years. The favorite to replace Tucker is Tyler Loopwho was Baltimore's best valued kicking in this year's draft. With a strong leg and a consistent technique, Loop converted 6 of 9 attempts with more than 50 yards in its university career, including a 62 yards last season.
Prior to the draft, John Harbaugh spoke with Tucker about the possibility that Baltimore select a kicker. Tucker was training and kicking at the facilities of the Ravens In recent weeks.
After the first day of the team for the team of the team on Sunday – which was the first time that most managers saw Loop kick in person – the ravens coach, John Harbaughhe addressed the situation of the team's kickers saying: “What we decide to do in the coming weeks will be based on American football.”
Justin Tucker He was the player with more years in the Ravens and the last one left of the team of the team that won the Super Bowl in 2012. One of the most popular athletes of Baltimore In the last decade, Tucker is widely known for its opera song and comic ads for a local convenience store. His number 9 shirt was one of the most used by fans in the matches of the Ravens as a place.
It has been seven times Pro Bowl and established a new standard for the kickers. Tucker not only has the best field conversion rate of the NFL (89.1%), but also holds the record of the longest field goal in the history of the League, after scoring a 66 -yard field goal that gave him the victory in 2021.
But Tucker comes from the worst season of his 13 -year career in the NFL. It failed 10 kicks in total, three more than in any previous season. His conversion rate of 73.3% (22, 30) in field goals last season located it in the 31st position of the NFL.
At the end of the season conference, Decosta gave Tucker a strong vote of confidence, calling him “if not the best kicking of all time, one of the best” and stressed that Tucker finished the season with great solidity.
“I have full confidence that Justin will be a great kicking for us next year and from now on,” Decosta said on January 22.
This marks the abrupt end of one of the most famous success stories of the Ravens. After not being selected in the draft of the Texas UniversityTucker quickly became the best kicking of his generation and recorded worthy numbers of the Hall of Fame. Now, leave the Ravens as their maximum historical scorer while defending their reputation against accusations of misconduct.
As a free agent, Tucker is still subject to disciplinary measures by the NFL according to the Personal Conduct Policy of the League.
