In an offseason largely defined by key veteran departures, new Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta made sure two-time Pro Bowl kicker Justin Tucker wasn’t going anywhere.
The sides agreed to a four-year extension Wednesday that runs through the 2023 season and makes Tucker the highest-paid kicker in the NFL. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the deal includes $20 million in new money, which includes $12.5 million fully guaranteed and an $8 million signing bonus. Tucker was already scheduled to make $3.05 million in base salary in 2019, the final season of the four-year, $16.8 million contract he signed in 2016 after receiving Baltimore’s franchise tag.
The most accurate kicker in NFL history at 90.1 percent and the consensus best in the game, Tucker is the first kicker in league history to produce six seasons of 30 or more field goals, illustrating how critical he’s been to Baltimore’s success upon arriving as a rookie free agent in 2012. Tucker also owns 13 career game-winning field goals, which includes his dramatic overtime winner in the 2012 divisional round at Denver. Since 2012, he leads the NFL with 237 field goals made and is second in points (952).
The 29-year-old also owns a record seven games with two or more field goals of 50 or more yards and is 20-for-24 from 50-plus yards since 2016.
Despite missing just the first extra point and first postseason field goal of his career this past year, Tucker was a 2018 first-team All-Pro selection and twice named AFC Special Teams Player of the Month. He went 35-for-39 on field goals with two of the misses being blocked and the other two coming from 53 and 65 yards. The Texas product and Super Bowl XLVII champion also tied his own single-season franchise record with 141 points scored for the third consecutive season.
A fan favorite known for his quirky personality and impressive singing voice, Tucker is the fifth-longest-tenured Raven behind only punter Sam Koch, guard Marshal Yanda, long snapper Morgan Cox, and cornerback Jimmy Smith. That continuity with Koch and Cox — a trio long nicknamed the “Wolfpack” — has given head coach John Harbaugh one of the top special-teams units in the NFL for years now.
Ravens reach four-year extension with two-time Pro Bowl kicker Tucker
Luke Jones
Luke Jones is the Ravens and Orioles beat reporter for WNST BaltimorePositive.com and is a PFWA member. His mind is consumed with useless sports knowledge, pro wrestling promos, and movie quotes, but he often forgets where he put his phone. Luke's favorite sports memories include being one of the thousands of kids who waited for Cal Ripken's autograph after Orioles games in the summer of 1995, attending the Super Bowl XXXV victory parade with his dad in the pouring rain, and watching the Terps advance to the Final Four at the Carrier Dome in 2002. Follow him on social media @BaltimoreLuke or email him at Luke@wnst.net.
8
Paid Advertisement
Podcast Audio Vault
88Paid Advertisement
Share the Post:
8Paid Advertisement
Right Now in Baltimore
Podcasts, Pearl Jam passion and the present tense with The Mayne Event
They met on the backstretch at Pimlico three decades ago and The Mayne Event always returns and never disappoints for sports, comedy, charity and why Eddie Vedder shouldn't trust Nestor. Longtime ESPNer Kenny Mayne checks in for another round of tales of wiffle ball with Ken Griffey, podcasts with the other Manning and still being pissed off about the Sonics (and Pilots) departure from Seattle.
Running back Tampa 25 years later with Ravens RB coach Matt Simon
These milestones continue to add up as the 25th anniversary of the Baltimore Ravens' Super Bowl XXXV win is coming later this month and Nestor is catching up with many of the Purple Reign legacies about life – on and off the field – as we celebrate the night we all felt the civic pride of that first miracle in Tampa. Reflections here with the man who coached Jamal Lewis, Priest Holmes, Sam Gash and Femi Ayanbadejo a quarter of a century ago.
The Ravens weren't good enough on the field
Firing the head coach and changing leadership will certainly create an interesting offseason in Owings Mills. No one covers the Xs and Os of the NFL like Mike Tanier of Too Deep Zone. The one-time geometry teacher of Joe Flacco joins Nestor to discuss the depth and salary cap numbers of the Baltimore Ravens roster and the structural changes Eric DeCosta will need even after Steve Bisciotti finds a new captain to lead Lamar Jackson.
888Paid Advertisement
