The Baltimore Ravens said goodbye to the scandal-plagued kicker Justin Tucker as they selected and then closed a deal with one of the top kickers in the NFL Draft.
The Ravens released Tucker and designed him a post-June 1 cut … dumping the previous reasoning that they were waiting for adequate information and the conclusion of the league’s investigation.
If the sexual misconduct allegations from 16 Baltimore-area massage therapists result in discipline from the league office, that will no longer be the Ravens’ problem.
And in what seems like a telling move, the Ravens picked and signed to a four-year deal rookie draftee Tyler Loop.
Meanwhile … Baltimore is now revealing some of the background involved in the decision with coach John Harbaugh speaking this week for the first time on the subject.
“I mean, you’re talking about arguably the best kicker in the history of the game,” Harbaugh said, breaking his silence on the sensitive matter. “And like we said, it’s multi-layered (and) it’s complicated.”
Indeed.
Harbaugh tried to again push the dubious claim that it was “a football decision.”
“Like I just said, it’s a multi-layer 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.”
And now comes a new reality.
The sixth-round rookie Loop is competing with undrafted rookie John Hoyland. Is risky, but …
“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.”
So the Ravens are done with Tucker. And what about the NFL?
“Yeah, I haven’t gotten an update but I know the review is ongoing,” commissioner Roger Goodell said recently.
Tucker, meanwhile, stands by his claim of innocence.
“I maintain I did not act inappropriately at any point before, during, or after a professional bodywork treatment session, nor have I ever been told I am unwelcome at any massage therapy provider,” he wrote.
