The Ravens entered the offseason with two kickers on the roster after releasing Justin Tucker, but now they have only one. Unless they sign another kicker, it would appear they have already reached a verdict. After drafting Tyler Loop in the sixth round, they also signed John Hoyland as a rookie free agent.
Despite both kicking well, the Ravens have already released one of their kickers—Hoyland, to be exact. As HC John Harbaugh explained, they made the move out of necessity due to injuries on the roster. Although he didn’t hand the kicker job to Loop, he said “he’s kicking well enough to win it”. Said Harbaugh, via the team’s website:
We were planning on John [Hoyland] being there at least for one game, maybe two games, maybe all the games, depending on how it went. If you’re the drafted kicker, you certainly have the edge, right? We wanted to keep the pressure on both of them, too, and he was doing a good job and kicking well enough to earn a spot on the team, but we just had roster needs right now.
The Ravens released Justin Tucker, a potential Hall-of-Fame kicker, after a disastrous season that culminated in him facing numerous sexual misconduct accusations: harassment Deshaun style. They waited until after they drafted Tyler Loop, however, later also adding John Hoyland.
It’s worth mentioning that Harbaugh didn’t rule out the Ravens adding the kicker back at a later date. “We just needed some [players at] certain positions – tight ends, receivers and running back – so we felt like we had to do it”, he said, “not that we couldn’t bring him back if we get the opportunity or we needed to”. But saying needed to, perhaps, implies an injury situation.
In reality, if the Ravens were committed to a kicker competition, they could have made another move. The Steelers have two kickers, punters, and long snappers currently on the roster, and they’ve had to make numerous roster moves already due to injury. Baltimore has two fullbacks, but Lucas Scott is not challenging Patrick Ricard.
In other words, this feels like making a decision without declaring it. Although Loop has had his ups and his downs, the reality is the Ravens only have one kicker now. And although they leave the door open to adding another kicker, it seems the job is his as long as he doesn’t completely shank it.
After one day of practice in which he missed three kickers, Loop is reportedly 40-for-44 kicking during camp. That is over 90 percent, and he does have strength in his leg, too. Most specialists will experience some growing pains when they enter the league, too. Still, it’s possible the Ravens might add a kicker off waivers should one become available. And then they might try to swing Loop for a draft pick.
Watch all your favorite Amazon Prime Video Sports broadcasts live and free. Get access to NFL, NBA, NASCAR, WNBA, and more – all included with your Prime membership!