Jamison HensleyMar 8, 2025, 11:00 AM
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OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- For more than a decade, the Baltimore Ravens never had to worry about adding a kicker. As the free agency negotiating window opens Monday, the Ravens now face more uncertainty at that position than any other team.
The Ravens are exploring contingency plans amid allegations of sexual misconduct against Justin Tucker. Tucker has been accused of inappropriate behavior by 16 massage therapists from eight Baltimore spas and wellness centers, according to the Baltimore Banner. He has twice publicly denied the allegations, which are under investigation by the league.
Team officials said at the NFL combine last month that Baltimore will wait until the investigation is over before making a decision about Tucker's future, but there is no timeline for when the NFL will announce whether there is sufficient evidence for disciplinary action. In 2021, it took five months for the league and the players' union to finalize a settlement in Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson's sexual assault case.
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While the Ravens haven't indicated whether they will add a veteran kicker in free agency, Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta and coach John Harbaugh both acknowledged at the NFL combine that Baltimore is looking at kickers in the draft.
"I'd say the kicker position would have been a priority no matter what," Harbaugh said. "Justin is our kicker, we love him, and I always would have expected him to keep going forever. But nobody goes forever. So, we have to look at every position like we do."
Baltimore's options in free agency include Nick Folk, Matt Prater and Eddy Pineiro, who spent the 2024 season with the Tennessee Titans, Arizona Cardinals and Carolina Panthers, respectively. The Ravens could wait until after the draft in late April, when any free agent signing after the draft doesn't cancel out a compensatory pick for the following season.
The first step in a backup plan for Tucker will likely come in next month's draft, where Baltimore is projected to have 11 total picks. In the Ravens' 29-year history, kicker is the only position they have never drafted.
There were four kickers at the NFL combine: Florida State's Ryan Fitzgerald, Arizona's Tyler Loop, Miami's Andres Borregales and Pittsburgh's Ben Sauls. Borregales is the top-rated kicker in this draft, according to ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr.
The Ravens plan to do their homework on all the kickers.
"We're blessed to have a really good kickers coach in [senior special teams coach] Randy Brown, who does a phenomenal job evaluating punters and kickers and long snappers for us every single season," DeCosta said. "We'll meet with Randy throughout the process. Over the coming weeks, he'll travel all over the country looking at these guys, and we'll build the best board that we can."
"I'd say the kicker position would have been a priority no matter what," Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said. Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images
There is a risk when going with young kickers. Over the past 10 seasons, rookies made 81.8% of their field goals, lower than the league average of 84.4%.
But the Ravens have shown the ability to find kicking talent, and they haven't had to use a draft pick to land a quality kicker. Since Brown joined Baltimore in 2008 as a kicking consultant, Baltimore has signed three undrafted kickers -- Graham Gano in 2008, Tucker in 2012 and Wil Lutz in 2016 -- who later became Pro Bowlers.
"The Ravens have done a very good job of knowing what's in between the ears with these guys," said Matt Stover, who kicked for the Ravens from 1996 to 2008. "Mental toughness is something that's really hard to measure. And DeCosta and his staff I'm sure are very much interviewing and evaluating based on that. Most guys, if they're in a combine, they can kick a football, right? So if I'm them, I'm trying to find out who this guy is and can he kick when it counts."
The Ravens showed plenty of confidence in Tucker as a rookie in 2012, when they selected him to kick for a team that was coming off an AFC Championship Game appearance. Tucker was clutch in Baltimore's Super Bowl run, making all four field goal attempts, and went on to earn seven Pro Bowl invitations and five first-team All-Pro honors. His 89.1% success rate on field goals (417-of-468) is the best in NFL history among kickers with at least 100 attempts.
But Tucker, 35, is coming off a season in which he missed a career-worst 10 kicks. His 73.3% conversion rate on field goals (22-of-30) ranked 31st in the NFL. His performance led to questions about whether the Ravens would look for competition for Tucker this offseason -- even before allegations surfaced on Jan. 30.
Stover pointed out that a new kicker would benefit from the Ravens' proficiency from the snap to the hold.
"The standard of the Ravens is by far the best in the league," he said. "So I believe that you can be pretty darn successful. Now, would they match Tucker? Boy, I'm not going to put that on anybody."