Why Did Ravens Cut Justin Tucker? John Harbaugh Sheds Light on The “Complicated” Decision

The Baltimore Ravens decided to release Justin Tucker so that the team could solely focus on football.

Why Did Ravens Cut Justin Tucker? John Harbaugh Sheds Light on The “Complicated” Decision

John Harbaugh and Justin Tucker (Image Credits: L-Open Source, R-NBC Sports)

Until a few months ago, Justin Tucker was widely respected as a living legend, a man with a cannon for a leg, who holds records for a 66-yard field goal, and has made over 63 field goals from 50+ yard range. Tucker’s 89.1% success rate on kicks and his seven Pro Bowl selections made him a piece that the Baltimore Ravens would consider releasing only in their nightmares.

Then came the allegations. Nearly 16 Baltimore-area massage therapists from eight therapeutic spas came forward and accused him of inappropriate behavior. The earliest incident was recorded in 2012. The Baltimore Ravens analyzed the situation and decided it was in the best interest of the team to cut the famed kicker.

Head Coach John Harbaugh was one of the stakeholders involved in making this decision. He spoke of this incident for the first time since Justin Tucker was cut. The decision was hard for him because he had coached the kicker since he arrived in the NFL in 2012. Despite their long-term professional relationship, Harbaugh had to do what was best for the team.

I mean, you’re talking about arguably the best kicker in the history of the game. Like we said, it’s multi-layered (and) it’s complicated. But in the end, it all comes back to what you have to do to get ready for your team to play the first game. And I think if you step back and you take a look at all the issues and all the ramifications, you can understand that we’ve got to get our football team ready and we’ve got to have a kicker to go. And that was the move that we decided to make.

Harbaugh said during a press conference at which owner Steve Bisciotti, team President Sashi Brown, and GM Eric DeCosta were present. From his perspective, the Ravens parted ways with Tucker because they knew that the allegations were not going away anytime soon. It would take a while for the dust to settle, and the investigation is a time-consuming process. For the entirety of this period, there would constantly be a bubble around Tucker and the Ravens organization.

John Harbaugh and the Baltimore Ravens are focused on preparing for the upcoming season

This would prove to be a distraction to the team, and therefore, Baltimore opted to save itself from the situation. Harbaugh will now look to Tucker’s backups, Tyler Loop and John Hoyland to step up and take charge.

Justin Tucker (2)
Justin Tucker (Image Credits: FOX Sports)

…now we have to spend all of our focus and our time to get these kickers ready. We’ve got a competition going on and (we’ve got to) get these guys ready to make kicks. So that’s all I’m thinking about. From my perspective, it’s like ‘We have to have a kicker out there making kicks,’ and what’s the best way to get that done?

Harbaugh concluded by indicating that Baltimore is now busy finding the next kicker through the means of a competition at training camp. Initially after the allegations first broke out against Tucker, the Ravens did not jump to any conclusions, and said that they would wait for the league’s investigation to conclude before making any decisions.

Then came the NFL Draft, a day on which the Ravens made a move that they have not since the team came into existence, drafting a kicker. Baltimore picked Tyler Loop in the sixth round of the 2025 Draft. A week after that, Tucker was released by the team. Since the team made the call, they have continued to deem it as a purely “football decision.”

Allegations aside, Tucker has not had a good year on the field. He missed a total of 10 kicks, and his 73.3% conversion rate on field goals ranked 31st in the league. Baltimore decided that it was time to move on. Interestingly, the last time the Ravens won a Super Bowl was the year in which they signed Justin Tucker as an undrafted free agent. So there is a good chance that history could repeat itself this season…

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