Zrebiec: Ravens Seem ‘Headed For’ Kicker Competitors After Sixth-Spherical Tyler Loop’s ‘Rocky Offseason’

The Baltimore Ravens may have drafted a kicker, but that doesn’t mean he will make the roster, it turns out. According to veteran beat writer Jeff Zrebiec, rookie Tyler Loop will have to earn the job. Baltimore also signed John Hoyland, a rookie free agent, which is not surprising. But Zrebiec had more to say about the kicker position in a recent piece for The Athletic.

“The Ravens did extensive work on all the available kickers in the draft and decided Arizona’s Tyler Loop was the guy they wanted”, Zrebiec writes. “They used a sixth-round pick to make sure they got him. Loop is still the favorite to succeed Tucker, but it appears the Ravens are headed for their first training camp kicking competition since Tucker beat out Billy Cundiff before the 2012 season”.

He adds that Loop “had a few rocky offseason practices, opening the door for John Hoyland”. Early in the offseason, the Ravens watched Loop hit all of his kicks, but apparently that didn’t last. “Hoyland’s form has been good enough to suggest the Ravens could have a difficult decision to make late in the preseason”.

For more than a decade, the Ravens were fortunate to have the game’s best kicker, until he was no longer. That would be Justin Tucker, who remains the most accurate kicker in history, but has had a downturn—or two.

Tucker’s struggles on the field culminated in a career-worst season for the Ravens in 2024. That season, he made just 73.3 percent of his field goals. He has finished below 87 percent for three consecutive years, pushing his career average below 90. After the season, he faced allegations of a pattern of sexual misconduct during therapeutic massage sessions—also known as Deshaun’s Delight.

Although the Ravens insisted they would make a purely football decision on Justin Tucker’s future, they ultimately released him shortly after drafting Tyler Loop and seeing him on the field for the first time. If only his initial appearance had been more representative.

It’s not unusual, of course, for a rookie kicker to have some shaky spring practices. The Ravens have no immediate, major reasons to be concerned about Tyler Loop at this point. But it still doesn’t hurt to have competition, even if it is a weighted one.

After all, the difference between a sixth-round kicker and an undrafted one is pretty minimal. Relatively few kickers go undrafted, and many are great, like the Steelers’ Chris Boswell. The Ravens knew they needed a kicker, though, so they ensured that they would get their guy. After the first kicker came off the board, they didn’t want to wait any longer.

Back in 2016, the Steelers used a sixth-round pick on LS Colin Holba. They held a competition with Kameron Canaday that summer, the latter winning the job. These things happen, and if Tyler Loop doesn’t end up being the Ravens’ next Justin Tucker, it was still worth the swing.