The Baltimore Ravens describe it as a football decision, and occurred before the NFL completed its research on Justin Tucker.
Whatever the underlying reasons, the team is moving from its star kick.
The Ravens announced on Monday that they decided to free Tucker, months after informing that he was accused of sexual behavior inappropriate by massage therapists. The five-time five times, Tucker, 35, has played his entire 13-year-old career with Baltimore. He is considered one of the best kickers in the history of the NFL, although 2024 was his worst season.
Baltimore’s banner has reported that more than a dozen massage therapists have accused Tucker of inappropriate sexual behavior. He NFL said it would investigateand the crows recruited kicker Tyler Loop End of last month.
“Sometimes, football decisions are incredibly difficult, and this is one of those cases,” said the general manager of the Ravens, Eric Decosta, in a statement issued by the club. “Taking into account our current list, we have made the difficult decision to free Justin Tucker.”
That comment was consistent with what coach John Harbaugh said at the rookie camp on Sunday, when he indicated that a decision about Tucker could come before the NFL completed his investigation.
“Every decision we make must be based on football,” said Harbaugh. “You have a rookie kick here. You took it in the sixth round, in the early sixth round. It is a talented guy. Only from the point of view of football: salary limit, all the different things that you only have in consideration, whatever we decide to do in the coming weeks will be based on football.”
Tucker has maintained that he did not act inappropriately while receiving professional treatment. A message that was looking for comments left with his publicist on Monday.
Tucker has the record of the longest kick in the history of the NFL to 66 yards, and its success rate of 89.1% in the field goals is the best of all time among the players with at least 100 attempts. He was the last remaining player in the Ravens of his most recent Super Bowl title, which happened when he was a rookie.
In 2022, he accepted a four -year contract extension during season 2027. That agreement included $ 17.5 million guaranteed.
Tucker lost the eight field goal attempts last season, although he recovered a little in the section. Then came the Banner report in January that left its future in doubt.
“Justin created many significant and unforgettable moments in the history of the Ravens,” Decosta said. “His reliability, focus, impulse, resistance and extraordinary talent made him one of the best kickers in the league for more than a decade. We are grateful for Justin’s many contributions while we play for the Ravens. We sincerely wish his family the best in this next chapter of their lives.”
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