Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said the team will wait for the NFL investigation to play out before making any decisions on embattled kicker Justin Tucker, while also acknowledging the allegations against Tucker are “serious and concerning.”
According to the Baltimore Banner, Tucker has been accused by numerous Baltimore-area massage therapists of sexual inappropriate behavior from 2012-2016. Since the Banner’s original story was published Jan. 30, other women have come forward, increasing the total to 16 who accuse Tucker of such behavior. Tucker has been banned from at least two upscale spas, according to the Banner.
When the original story broke, Tucker vehemently denied the allegations via a statement and disputed that he had been banned from any spas. He has made no public comments since.
The team at the time said it was in fact-finding mode but had little other comment. Meeting with the media at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis on Feb. 25, both DeCosta and head coach John Harbaugh were peppered with questions about Tucker, his future, and their knowledge of the issue.
DeCosta has met with NFL investigators, he said, adding, “I believe the league is meeting with other people in Baltimore as well.”
“I think we are fortunate that the league is doing an investigation,” DeCosta said. “We’ll wait as patiently as we can for as much information as we can, and we’ll make our decisions based on that.”
DeCosta said the team first became aware of the allegations against Tucker shortly before the Banner’s initial story was published. Both DeCosta and Harbaugh said they have spoken to Tucker since the allegations first were reported, roughly 10 days after the season ended.
DeCosta also said the team does not have a specific “zero tolerance” policy, adding, “We look at every case differently and the facts in every single case.”
In the wake of the Ray Rice saga, owner Steve Bisciotti and then-general manager Ozzie Newsome had stressed that past instances of domestic violence would be a major red flag in evaluating any draft picks or potential free agents, but no official zero tolerance policy was ever formalized.
Speaking a couple of hours after DeCosta, Harbaugh reiterated that the team’s actions will be predicated by the league’s investigation.
“The NFL is looking into it,” Harbaugh said. “They’re going to review it. They’re going to try to gather all the facts. … Once there’s an understanding of it, then you have a chance to make some decisions.”
Nationally, Tucker’s case is drawing comparisons to that of Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson. Watson was initially suspended for six games in 2022 for a violation of the league’s personal-conduct policy after being accused by more than 20 women of sexual assault and inappropriate conduct during massages.
A subsequent report in Watson’s case noted that the league’s collective bargaining agreement had no definition for sexual assault, but the report defined it as “unwanted sexual contact with another person.”
That six-game suspension had been handed down by an independent arbiter jointly approved by the league and the players’ union. The league, which had sought a yearlong suspension for Watson, appealed the ruling and the league and Watson ultimately settled on an 11-game suspension and $5 million fine.
Tucker, 35, has become one of the best kickers in NFL history in 13 seasons with the Ravens. He is a five-time first-team All-Pro and a seven-time Pro Bowl selection. Tucker is the most accurate kicker in NFL history with a career field-goal success rate of 89.1 percent (417-468), and he holds the NFL record for longest field goal, a 66-yarder at Detroit in 2021.
But he is coming off the worst season of his career. He finished 22-for-30 on field-goal attempts, and his 73.3 percent success rate was easily the worst of his career. He endured a midseason slump during which he missed three kicks in a game (two field-goal tries, one extra point) for the first time in his career.
Tucker attributed the slump to correctable mechanics, and he rebounded to go 5-for-5 on field goals and 23-for-23 on extra points in the final six games, including playoffs.
Speaking at the team’s season-ending news conference just a few days before the first allegations against Tucker were published, DeCosta had expressed confidence in his kicker, saying, “I think I have every expectation that Justin’s going to be a great kicker for us next year and moving forward.”
At the Combine, Harbaugh said the team would be evaluating kickers this spring, but he implied that would have been the case anyway.
“We’re looking at kickers. We’re looking at a lot of positions,” Harbaugh said. “We’re looking at every position, but I’d say the kicker position would have been a priority no matter what because Justin is our kicker, we love him, and I always would have expected him to keep going forever, but nobody goes forever.”
As of now, the Ravens have 11 draft picks. They signed Tucker as an undrafted rookie in 2012 after he attended rookie minicamp on a tryout basis. They have never drafted a kicker.
Tucker is signed through the 2027 season after agreeing to a four-year extension in 2022. His salary cap hit of $7 million would be the highest in the league among kickers in 2025 according to Spotrac.com, which tracks player contracts. The Ravens would gain no cap savings if he were released, though if they designated Tucker a post-June 1 cut, they would push about $4.6 million of that to 2026 and lower the 2025 cap hit to roughly $2.8 million.
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