The Baltimore Ravens will have a new kicker for the first time in more than a decade.
That’s been known for three months now, with the Ravens having released Justin Tucker in May as the NFL investigates him for allegations of sexual misconduct.
Tucker was Baltimore’s kicker since 2012.
He’s the most accurate kicker in NFL history, at 89.1% of field goals made. He had his worst season in 2024, at just 73% on field goals.
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With Tucker gone, the battle to replace him is a two-player competition.
The favorite is Tyler Loop, who was a sixth-round pick out of Arizona in April.
Also in the running: undrafted free agent John Hoyland out of Wyoming.
Through the weekend, Loop was 28-for-31 on kicks this summer, while Hoyland was 25-for-28.
ESPN’s Jamison Hensley reports the Ravens went to “settle on a kicker around the preseason finale on Aug. 23.”
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Hensley also shared comments from special teams coach Chris Horton.
Horton said: “When the winner shows, it’s going to show. How soon is that going to be? I don’t know, but I do know that these guys are going to be out here getting valuable work every day and in these preseason games.”
In the talented AFC North Division, every kick will matter. The Ravens have to get this right.
Loop and Hoyland should both feel some personal pressure on some kicks during the preseason, knowing they might be the difference between winning and losing this job. Whoever responds to that pressure in the best way probably has the best shot of taking the gig.
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