Regardless of the reality surrounding the “football decision” to release Justin Tucker on Monday, the Ravens have moved on from their seven-time Pro Bowl kicker after 13 seasons.
But even with Tucker’s 2024 campaign being the worst of his career, a Super Bowl contender replacing the most accurate kicker in NFL history is easier said than done. Remember we’re talking about a franchise that’s relied on two kickers — Tucker and Matt Stover — for 26 of the 29 seasons it’s existed. Those two account for roughly 90% of the field goals made and attempted in team history.
The Ravens have had a total of eight men try field goals over their entire history. In contrast, the Washington Commanders had four different kickers attempt field goals last season.
Best of luck to sixth-round pick Tyler Loop.
The first kicker ever to be drafted by the Ravens is certainly talented, but those are giant shoes to fill. Stephen Hauschka ultimately enjoyed a 13-year NFL career and even won a Super Bowl with Seattle, but he didn’t work out as the successor to Stover in 2009 and was replaced by Billy Cundiff midway through that season. That’s why it wasn’t surprising to see the Ravens invite former Wyoming kicker John Hoyland to participate in rookie camp on a tryout basis before reports of his expected signing to the 90-man offseason roster.
Loop isn’t just going to be handed the job, but it certainly helps that the University of Arizona product was the kicker senior special teams coach Randy Brown “really” coveted after weeks of evaluating draft prospects, according to general manager Eric DeCosta. Loop went 67-for-80 on field goals in his college career and 18-for-23 last season, which included going 6-for-9 from 50-plus yards and a school-record 62-yarder last fall.
8
“He’s a talented guy, he’s strong, and he’s very consistent with his leg swing,” head coach John Harbaugh said at the conclusion of the draft. “He’s one of these guys [who’s] a kicking nerd, and you like to see that. He’s really into every detail and technique, and he studied Justin a lot and a lot of other guys too. And he studied our operation, so I know he’s excited too.”
A few reporters even noted how Loop sounded like Tucker during the video call that followed his selection with the 186th overall pick on April 26. The 23-year-old exudes confidence, and he’ll need that to win — and keep — the job.
It’s never easy kicking in the AFC North, especially considering the harsher elements late in the season.
“Having a challenge to go conquer and a skill set to refine and really work on and become an expert of kicking in those conditions is something that gets me fired up,” Loop said. “Learning from coaches who have been up there for a long time and learned how to be successful in the AFC North kicking, that’s something that just the sound of gets me pumped up. I’m really looking forward to it and learning all that.”
With the book closed on Tucker, a spring and summer of tracking field goals now awaits. Some level of uneasiness will surely accompany any rough stretches Loop — or Hoyland or anyone else added to the mix — experiences. That’s only natural when you’re trying to replace one of the best kickers in NFL history, and we’re talking about a team with sky-high expectations entering 2025.
At the very least, Harbaugh came away impressed after his first practice watching Loop.
“It was good to see it. It was good to hear it,” Harbaugh said Sunday. “I think as much as anything, it’s good to hear a kicker, and the way the ball comes off his foot is impressive. Both kickers, I thought, looked really good today. We got them out there behind the line with the snap and everything, and I think they made them all, didn’t they? You guys were watching, so that’s good to see. It’s a good start that way.”
Of course, there’s a long way to go in trusting Loop to make those kicks this fall and beyond.
