Marlon Humphrey reacts to Ravens firing Justin Tucker amid kicker facing legal trouble

Justin Tucker is gone from the Baltimore Ravens after thirteen fruitful seasons. On Monday, the reigning NFC North champions announced that they were releasing the veteran kicker after a career-worst 73.3% field goal percentage in 2024 and subsequent sexual misconduct investigation.

In a statement, general mananger Eric DeCosta called it a "football decision" - just as head coach John Harbaugh had alluded to during rookie camp on Sunday:

"I would just say like, from the standpoint of the investigation and all that, we don't know anything. We haven't been given any information, as it should be. It's all done the way it's done. So we don't know anything along those lines. So, we can't make any decisions based on that."

And cornerback Marlon Humphrey also had his own thoughts on the matter, taking to his social media to post four thinking emojis:

ESPN analyst Mina Kimes, however, was more condemnatory about the statement, writing:

"Was this tone necessary?"

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According to The Athletic, Tucker will have a post-June 1 designation. This will allow the Ravens to spread out his $7.5-million dead cap figure - the largest such hit at his position. His non-guaranteed $4.2-million salary this year will be added to their cap space.

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Ravens add second kicker after Justin Tucker's release

When the Ravens drafted Arizona's Tyler Loop in the sixth round of the recently-concluded draft, it was taken as a sign that he would eventually succeed Justin Tucker as the franchise's resident kicker. After all, John Harbaugh had prasied him as "a talented guy"; and he seemed excited at the prospect of inheriting the role from someone who played for his favorite college team (Texas):

"Getting to follow in the footsteps of a guy like [Justin Tucker] who's been so elite and get to compete with him and maybe learn from him, that gets me fired up. I'm ready to get up there and start competing and finding ways to win games and make kicks."

However, he may have some competition during training camp. A few hours after Tucker's release, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that John Hoyland had been invited to the team's rookie minicamp:

The Wyoming alum had a 79.3% field goal percentage in five seasons with the Cowboys.