The Baltimore Ravens released embattled kicker Justin Tucker, who is coming off the worst season of his career amid a sexual misconduct allegation by the league.
“Sometimes football decisions are incredibly difficult, and this is one of those instances. Considering our current roster, we have made the tough decision to release Justin Tucker,” Ravens executive vice president and general manager Eric DeCosta said in a statement Monday.
“Justin created many significant and unforgettable moments in Ravens history. His reliability, focus, drive, resilience and extraordinary talent made him one of the league’s best kickers for over a decade. We are grateful for Justin’s many contributions while playing for the Ravens. We sincerely wish him and his family the very best in this next chapter of their lives.”
Tucker, 35, is a seven-time Pro Bowler and five-time All-Pro first teamer who is coming off the worst of his 13 seasons, all with the Ravens. His issues go beyond the field, however.
He is accused of engaging in inappropriate behavior with several female massage therapists. Sixteen women have accused Tucker of misconduct at eight high-end spas in the Baltimore area from 2012-16. Tucker has twice publicly denied the allegations.
Team president Sashi Brown had previously said the Ravens would not decide on Tucker’s future with the team until the NFL’s investigation was complete.
However, the Ravens then spent a sixth-round pick in last month’s draft on former Arizona kicker Tyler Loop, making Tucker’s future in Baltimore seem less certain.
Loop kicked for the first time at the team’s facility in Owings Mills, Md., on Sunday, when the Ravens began their rookie minicamp. Tucker was working out and practicing kicking at the Ravens’ facility over the last couple of weeks.
Harbaugh was asked on Sunday how the team will handle the kicker competition between the veteran and the drafted rookie.
“Every decision we make has to be based on football,” Harbaugh said. “There’s a lot of layers to that. You’ve got a rookie kicker and here you took him in the sixth round, early in the sixth round. He’s a talented guy. Just from a football standpoint — salary cap, all the different things that you just take into consideration — whatever we decide to do over the next few weeks will be based on football.”
Baltimore could gain $4.2 million in salary cap space this year, ESPN reported, if Tucker is designated as a post-June 1 cut, which splits $7.5 million in dead money over two seasons.
Tucker, an undrafted free agent out of Texas in 2012, has become the league’s all-time leader in field-goal accuracy, making 89.1 percent of his kicks. But he made a career-low 73.3 percent (22 of 30) last season and was just 11 of 19 from 40 or more yards.
–Field Level Media
