Patriots Kept Top Kicker Away From Ravens

Heading into the 2025 NFL Draft, the Baltimore Ravens needed a kicker and everyone knew it.

Justin Tucker was not only coming off the worst season of his 13-year career, but far more importantly, was facing more than a dozen sexual misconduct allegations dating from 2012-16. Though the Ravens kept quiet throughout the NFL's investigation, many assumed that      Tucker's days in Baltimore were numbered. Those assumptions came true when the Ravens released him on May 5, and he just received a 10-week suspension following the NFL's investigation.

As it turns out, another team used that knowledge against them.

According to ESPN's Mike Reiss, the New England Patriots selected Miami kicker Andres Borregales with the No. 182 overall pick, thus making him the first kicker off the board, partially because they didn't want the Ravens taking him with the No. 186 pick. Their suspicions were proven right, as the Ravens ended up drafting Arizona's Tyler Loop with that very pick.

"The timing of the pick wasn't a coincidence, with New England strategizing that the Ravens — who owned pick No. 186 — were a strong possibility to select a kicker given the uncertainty surrounding Justin Tucker," Reiss wrote. "Baltimore chose Arizona's Tyler Loop at 186 and later released Tucker, who now faces a 10-week suspension for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy."

Hailing from Venezuela, Borregales was widely seen as the best kicker in the draft. Last season, he made 18 of 19 field goals, his longest being an impressive 56-yarder against Virginia Tech, and all 62 of his extra points to earn first-team All-ACC honors for the second year in a row. Going from sunny South Florida to New England will be an adjustment, but he absolutely has the talent to succeed at the NFL level.

That said, Loop is a good kicker in his own right, making 18 of 23 field goals and 23 of 25 extra points last season. He has shown some inconsistency throughout the offseasson, but again, the potential is there.