With the Ravens’ Justin Tucker under investigation, the team is doing its due diligence with a pre-draft visit. According to Tony Pauline, they are bringing in Florida State’s Ryan Fitzgerald as one of their top-30 visits. Most teams likely do not spend a top-30 visit on a kicker. But ordinarily, their kickers aren’t under investigation for sexual misconduct.
The Ravens have enjoyed the services of Justin Tucker for 13 years, with arguably the greatest kicking career in the history of the NFL. While his 2024 season saw a significant dip, for a while, he boasted the only 90-percent career average ever. Currently, he sits at 89.1 percent after making just 73.3 percent of his kicks last season.
Back in February, a Baltimore paper published accusations against Justin Tucker, the Ravens claiming no prior knowledge. Tucker also stated that he had previously never been made aware of the allegations in advance.
This occurred after the Ravens’ season ended, so it doesn’t help explain Tucker’s troubling on-field performance. While he made all of his kicks inside of 40 yards, he missed eight in total. From 40-49, he went 5-for-8, and from 50-plus, he finished 6-for-11. In a historic year for long-range kicking, he stumbled.
The Ravens have actually seen a slide from Justin Tucker for years now. Since 2022, he has not topped an 87-percent single-season success rate. Just a year earlier, however, he led the league in success rate and set an NFL record for the longest field goal ever made at 66 yards.
But Father Time comes knocking even for kickers, and Tucker is now 35 years old, so the Ravens have good reason to start scouting other legs even without the specter of their All-Pro kicker facing a potential suspension.
Oh yeah, about that. Initially, seven massage therapists accused Tucker of sexual misconduct during massage sessions. Over the course of time, numerous other massage therapists came forward with similar accusations. Eventually, the NFL, probably feeling they had no other option, opened an investigation. The Ravens have acknowledged the investigation and the allegations, which Tucker has denied.
However, unlike Ray Rice’s tenure with the Ravens, Justin Tucker already looks like he may be done. While last season was particularly egregious, he has not been the “old reliable” for the past few years. And they still have three years left on a four-year, $24 million extension. While not enormous compared to other positions, $6 million per year for a kicker isn’t cheap.
Ryan Fitzgerald is one of the top kickers in this draft class, but there are also Andres Borregales and Ben Sauls, the latter out of Pitt. Given the circumstances, they will likely have also done their due diligence on them. Even if the league doesn’t suspend Justin Tucker, the Ravens may want to look the other way anyway.
