{"id":29921,"date":"2025-05-07T02:30:14","date_gmt":"2025-05-07T02:30:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/29921\/"},"modified":"2025-05-07T02:30:14","modified_gmt":"2025-05-07T02:30:14","slug":"justin-tucker-what-to-know-about-kickers-cut-by-ravens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/29921\/","title":{"rendered":"Justin Tucker: What to know about kicker\u2019s cut by Ravens"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Ravens cut longtime kicker and fan favorite Justin Tucker on Monday<\/a>, more than three months after allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior against multiple Baltimore-area massage therapists surfaced. The cut came after two days of seeing their new rookie kicker at camp and with an NFL investigation into those allegations still pending. <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what you need to know. <\/p>\n

What the Ravens are saying<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever we decide to do over the next few weeks will be based on football,\u201d Ravens head coach John Harbaugh told reporters Sunday afternoon when asked about the prospect of having Tucker and his possible successor, rookie draft pick Tyler Loop, in the same building at the start of Baltimore\u2019s offseason training activities later this month. <\/p>\n

But just over 24 hours later, at 4:56 p.m. Monday, the team announced Tucker\u2019s release in a statement from general manager Eric DeCosta. <\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes football decisions are incredibly difficult, and this is one of those instances,\u201d DeCosta said. \u201cConsidering our current roster, we have made the tough decision to release Justin Tucker.\u201d<\/p>\n

DeCosta praised Tucker\u2019s \u201creliability, drive, resilience and extraordinary talent\u201d and said he \u201ccreated many significant and unforgettable moments in Ravens history.\u201d<\/p>\n

He did not mention the allegations against Tucker. <\/p>\n

Ravens team president Sashi Brown said last month the team would wait<\/a> to make a decision on Tucker until the NFL finished its investigation into him.<\/p>\n

What Tucker is saying<\/p>\n

So far, nothing. Tucker has not posted a reaction to social media, and Clare Locke and Williams & Connolly, law firms that Tucker hired earlier this year<\/a> in the wake of The Banner\u2019s reporting, have not responded to messages seeking comment. Neither has a public relations firm that has been representing Tucker.<\/p>\n

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Previously, Tucker has been adamant that the allegations against him were false. He later apologized, while maintaining he did nothing wrong, and said he \u201cnever intended to disrespect anyone\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt devastates me to know that anyone I have worked with would not have felt respected and valued as a professional, but more importantly as a person, and to anyone who has felt otherwise, I am sorry,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

The NFL investigation<\/p>\n

The NFL launched an investigation following the Banner\u2019s reporting, and that investigation remains ongoing, the league said Monday. <\/p>\n

Sixteen massage therapists from eight spas and wellness centers, most of whom do not know each other, detailed similar experiences and told people close to them around the time the incidents occurred<\/a>. The Banner reached out to those people to corroborate the women\u2019s accounts. <\/p>\n

The allegations against Tucker include claims that he repeatedly and intentionally exposed his erect genitals during massage sessions, brushed two therapists with his exposed penis and, in several cases, left what appeared to be ejaculate on the massage table. Two spas said they had banned him from returning, which Tucker has denied.<\/p>\n

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Several massage therapists and at least one spa owner have spoken with league investigators. <\/p>\n

Michael Belsky and Catie Dickinson, attorneys representing many of the massage therapists who have accused Tucker of wrongdoing, said in a statement Monday \u201cthe continued lack of acknowledgement of these experiences [by Tucker and the Ravens] is profoundly disappointing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who will kick for the Ravens?<\/p>\n

The Ravens appear ready to move forward with former Arizona Wildcats kicker Loop, who they selected in the sixth round of the NFL Draft<\/a> on April 26. It was the first time the Ravens had used a draft pick on a placekicker. <\/p>\n

Harbaugh said Sunday he was impressed with Loop\u2019s ability. The team could still choose to bring in another kicker for competition. The Athletic reported Monday that the Ravens are expected to sign former Wyoming kicker John Hoyland after rookie minicamp.<\/p>\n

While it is unusual for a team to so quickly decide one of its rookies is prepared to take over a starting role, cutting a well-paid veteran in favor of a young player is common because it creates salary cap space. The Ravens, by designating Tucker a post-June 1 release, will gain just over $4 million under the cap. <\/p>\n

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The Baltimore Banner thanks its sponsors. Become one.<\/a><\/p>\n

What\u2019s next for Tucker<\/p>\n

Tucker had been practicing at the team facility in Owings Mills in recent weeks. He had a down year in 2023, registering a career-low 73% accuracy rate. He did not miss a field goal or extra point in his final six games, including the postseason. He\u2019s 35 years old, an age where top kickers can still be effective.<\/p>\n

But the possibility of a suspension by the NFL could affect a team\u2019s willingness to give him a chance, and certainly an actual suspension would impede his ability to sign with a team that finds itself in need of a kicker during the season.<\/p>\n

Off the field, while many of Tucker\u2019s accusers have retained attorneys amid The Banner\u2019s reporting, legal experts said the statute of limitations for criminal charges \u2014 if they even applied \u2014 had long passed, and that civil action against him similarly seemed unlikely.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Ravens cut longtime kicker and fan favorite Justin Tucker on Monday, more than three months after allegations…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":29922,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2052],"tags":[184,117,2282,7,58,11697,6,169],"class_list":{"0":"post-29921","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-baltimore-ravens","8":"tag-baltimore","9":"tag-baltimore-ravens","10":"tag-baltimoreravens","11":"tag-football","12":"tag-los-angeles-rams","13":"tag-mt-bank-stadium","14":"tag-nfl","15":"tag-ravens"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114464202801176474","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29921","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29921"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29921\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29922"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}