The Baltimore Ravens expect to make a drastic decision regarding Justin Tucker

The Baltimore Ravens suffered their fifth loss of the 2024 season on Sunday, losing to the Philadelphia Eagles 24:19.

While Lamar Jackson and the Ravens’ potent offense put on a lackluster performance to say the least, Baltimore traded blows with Philadelphia throughout the game and could have escaped with a win if their future Hall of Fame kicker Justin Tucker had performed like they did he’s done so many times in recent seasons.

But Tucker’s significant decline in 2024 continued in the worst possible way on Sunday. He missed two field goals and an extra point — and those seven points would have been enough for the win — but Tucker continued the troubling trend that has plagued him all year.

So far, he’s made just 19 of 25 field goals – an almost unrecognizable 76 percent, which ranks among the lowest among full-time kickers.

For more than a decade, the Baltimore Ravens kicker has functioned almost automatically, consistently hitting long-range clutch kicks throughout his NFL career. Tucker started the season with a brilliant 90.2 percent success rate on field goal attempts, an NFL record.

NFL writers Mike Jones and Ted Nguyen of the Athletic believe the Ravens have no choice but to add a new kicker, which would be a drastic decision for the future Hall of Fame player.

Here’s what Jones said:

“It’s very difficult to watch a legendary player like Tucker struggle like that. In four of the Ravens’ five losses, he now had several crucial errors on field goals or extra point attempts. However, Harbaugh and the Ravens love Tucker, so they want to handle this situation with the utmost care. But that loyalty could end up costing them, either during this regular season or in the playoffs. They really have no choice but to explore other options at kicker. I’m not saying Tucker should be eliminated, but it’s just smart to bring in someone else to at least compete with him and then evaluate the situation week by week.”

Nguyen followed with an even more drastic assessment of the Ravens’ kicker:

“I think we’ve seen enough from Tucker this season to conclude that this isn’t just a slump. He’s cost them games, and there’s too much at stake this season for the Ravens’ playoff hopes to be derailed by a kicker. As legendary as Tucker is, I think Baltimore needs to at least explore other options at kicker. Those available won’t have the ceiling that Tucker has, but he’s been terrible from over 50 yards this season and I can’t imagine it could get any worse. There’s a chance he can get things back on track, but we’ve seen first-round quarterbacks benched this season – no one should be safe if they cost you games.”

Currently, Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh is publicly stating that they are not preparing to make a move regarding Tucker.

“We worked through it,” Harbaugh said after the game. “You work through it with every single player, every single thing.” You fight to help the boys be successful. We do that.

“If you ask me, ‘Are we going to move on from Justin Tucker?’ I don’t really plan on doing that at the moment, I don’t think that would be wise… Looking at Justin Tucker’s story, you have to say he’s capable of it.

That didn’t really sound like a full vote of confidence, and as crazy as it may sound, it’s safe to say the Ravens need to consider a change.