Is the writing on the wall for Justin Tucker’s future in Baltimore after the Ravens drafted Tyler Loop in the sixth round?
The Ravens were one of the few teams in the league to use an actual draft pick on one of the three special teams positions as they selected Arizona kicker Tyler Loop in the sixth round. Unsurprisingly, the decision to draft a kicker has stirred up the whispers about Justin Tucker’s future in Baltimore.
Tucker is still in the midst of allegations stemming from half a dozen massage therapists accusing the kicker of inappropriate activity. These allegations have come not too long after the Deshaun Watson saga that saw him get accused by dozens of massage therapists for the same actions.
The Ravens have shown in the past that they at least try to adhere to a zero-tolerance policy, specifically when they released running back Ray Rice following a video of him knocking out his then-fiancee in an elevator. Without actual video evidence, however, the Ravens are likely to take their time in letting the facts come to light before making a decision regarding the greatest kicker in franchise history.
Loop started his career as the Wildcats’ punter, playing in five games during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. The next season, he converted on all of his PAT and field goal attempts (12 each) while playing in eight games total.
The 2022 season was Loop’s first as the full-time starting kicker for Arizona. He was a perfect 38-for-38 on his PATs and 18-of-21 on field goal attempts with a long of 48 yards. That year, he earned Honorable Mention All-Pac-12. In the team’s final season as a member of the Pac-12, Loop converted all 53 of his PATs and went 19-for-24 on field goals with a long of 52 yards end route to being named Second-Team All-Pac-12.
This past season in the Big 12, Loop was named Honorable Mention All-Conference after converting 23-of-25 PATs and 18-of-23 field goals with a long of 62 which was also a program record.