Ravens Coach on 'Complex' Justin Tucker Decision

The departure of Justin Tucker is truly setting in as the Baltimore Ravens begin OTAs this week.

The Ravens released Tucker, 35, on May 5 amidst an NFL investigation for sexual misconduct. Earlier this offseason, 16 massage therapists accused Tucker of misconduct during sessions between 2012 and 2016, his first five seasons in the league. He has twice denied the allegations against him, calling them "categorically false."

While speaking with reporters for the first time since Tucker's release, head coach John Harbaugh detailed the "complex decision-making process" that involved him, general manager Eric DeCosta, team president Sashi Brown and owner Steve Bisciotti.

"I mean, you're talking about arguably the best kicker in the history of the game," Harbaugh said after Wednesday's OTA session, per ESPN. "And 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 also doubled down on the Ravens referring to the move as a "football decision," which the Ravens drew plenty of criticism for upon their announcement.

"Like I just said, it's a multilayer decision," Harbaugh said. "If it was just a black and white simple thing, then it would be easy to understand, but I think anybody can look at the whole thing in perspective and say, 'OK, we've got to have a kicker ready to go,' and there's a whole lot of moving parts of that deal. It is just the reality of it."

The most accurate kicker in NFL history, Tucker had by far his worst season in 2024 as he made just 73.3 percent of his field goal attempts. He also missed two extra points for just the second time in his career.

Baltimore is now hosting a kicker competition between sixth-round pick Tyler Loop from Arizona and undrafted free agent John Hoyland from Wyoming. Harbaugh is well aware of the risks that come with starting a rookie kicker, but it's a risk he and the Ravens will have to take now.

"There's a lot of risks in life," Harbaugh said. "There's a risk [when] you get in your car; you'll be driving home in this rain. I want you to be very careful. It's going to be risky out there on that road."