25 days after Ravens released Justin Tucker, HC John Harbaugh makes feelings known about NFL kicker's release

The Baltimore Ravens found themselves in a messy situation this year, which seemingly led to the release of Justin Tucker. HC John Harbaugh addressed the release for the first time on Wednesday.

In January, "The Baltimore Banner" published a bunch of reports that accused Tucker of multiple instances of inappropriate sexual behaviour dating back to 2012. Amid the ongoing investigation, the Ravens brought in a new kicker, Tyler Loop, in April. A month later, they let go off the 35-year-old.

John Harbaugh made his feelings known about Tucker's release and also added that he's focused on preparing the new kickers for the upcoming season.

“I mean, you’re talking about arguably the best kicker in the history of the game,” Harbaugh said, referring to Tucker. “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.

"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."

Harbaugh added:

“So in that sense, it’s a football decision, and now we have to spend all of our focus and our time to get these kickers ready. We’ve got a competition going on and (we’ve got to) get these guys ready to make kicks. So that’s all I’m thinking about.”

Baltimore is conducting the OTAs with Tyler Loop and undrafted rookie free agent John Hoyland.

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Ravens HC John Harbaugh has big expectations from star TE

Despite the off-field drama this offseason, John Harbaugh is only focused on achieving big things with the Ravens next season. The HC made a bold claim about his tight end Isaiah Likely, that the 25-year-old is capable of becoming an All-Pro.

"I want to see him be an All-Pro," said Harbaugh. "That would be my goal for him, and he's capable of it."

Likely has all the makings of becoming an All-Pro. Last year, he played all 16 regular-season games for Baltimore, accumulating 447 yards and six touchdowns receiving.

It will be interesting to see what the Ravens achieve next season under John Harbaugh