Focus Remains on On-Field Performance
The Baltimore Ravens added kicker Tyler Loop in the sixth round of last month’s NFL Draft, introducing new competition at the position as veteran Justin Tucker remains under league investigation.
During the team’s rookie minicamp on Sunday, head coach John Harbaugh was asked about the current situation with both kickers in the building. He made it clear that the team’s evaluation would come down strictly to football matters.
“I would just say from the standpoint of the investigation and all that, we don’t know anything,” Harbaugh said, via the team’s official transcript. “We haven’t been given any information, as it should be. It’s all done the way it’s done. So, we don’t know anything along those lines. You can’t make any decisions based on that.
“Every decision we make has to be based on football. There’s a lot of layers to that. You’ve got a rookie kicker in here. We took him in the sixth round, early in the sixth round. He’s a talented guy.”
“Just from a football standpoint, salary cap [and] all the different things that you just take into consideration. Whatever we decide to do over the next few weeks would be based on football.”
Tucker’s Status Uncertain Amid Investigation
Justin Tucker, who has been with the team since 2012, is currently under investigation by the NFL following accusations of improper conduct. The allegations involve 16 massage therapists from eight Baltimore-area spas and span from his rookie year through 2016. Tucker has denied all allegations.
Harbaugh confirmed that Tucker has remained active in team activities. Harbaugh noted that Tucker has been in the building “the last couple of weeks kicking and everything.”
Rookie Kicker Brings New Dynamic
At 35 years old, Tucker is also coming off the least productive season of his career. Setting personal lows in both field goals made (22) and field goal percentage (73.3%). In contrast, Tyler Loop represents a new chapter: the first kicker ever drafted by the Ravens in franchise history.
As the team evaluates the position heading into the season, the competition between Tucker and Loop will unfold based on merit, performance and roster considerations. Not external circumstances.
