Kicking Competition Crucial for Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens, for all of the contending they've done in their short history, have undergone some big changes over the last decade.

The waning Joe Flacco era transitioned fairly seamlessly into the Lamar Jackson administration, a period in which the Ravens have maintained their stingy defense while adding scoring firepower in Mark Andrews, Zay Flowers and, most recently, Derrick Henry. Players came and went, but their eye for talent evaluation has consistently kept them in the championship race for most of the 2020s.

Despite the constant turnover of NFL rosters, one position they've never had to think about was one of the league's most historically expendable. Justin Tucker reigned over the team's starting kicker role for 13 years, setting a league record by making 89.1% of his field goals, but last season's drastic clip in his consistency combined with off-the-field allegations in forcing the team's hand into a changing of the guard.

The Ravens spent a draft pick on a kicker for the first time this summer, bringing in Tyler Loop before they'd even formally cut ties with Tucker. He didn't blow management away with prior practices this summer, though, necessitating a duel for the starting kicker spot with undrafted signee John Hoyland that ESPN tagged as the team's biggest positional battle.

"From the Ravens' perspective, they're not replacing the most accurate field goal kicker in NFL history, which is a title that Tucker still holds," Jamison Hensley wrote. "Baltimore is looking to upgrade from a 35-year-old Tucker, who missed a career-worst 10 kicks last season and was 53.3% (16-of-30) from beyond 50 yards the past three years."

Loop reportedly holds an edge, a natural advantage brought on by the draft capital that brought him to Baltimore alongside his "booming leg," but Hoyland has given him a run for his money with a competitive offseason of kicking.

Training camp is set to commence on Wednesday, giving both of their young prospects a chance to take Tucker's mantle as the team's go-to leg with the full 2025 roster finally convening. It's not only a big chance for Loop and Hoyland, but enormously unfamiliar for a franchise that's finally had to turn the page on a now-controversial team icon.