Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker has turned himself into perhaps the best leg in the NFL during his four professional seasons. He's consistently true from distances of 50-plus and he's now the second-most-accurate kicker in league history. That's why Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome told ESPN only two days ago that if the team couldn't strike a long-term deal with Tucker, they'd franchise him, and it's why the Ravens then went and did just that on Friday.
Tucker's agent Robert S. Roche tweeted Friday morning that the Ravens had placed the franchise tag on Tucker.
The Baltimore Ravens have placed the franchise designation on client Justin Tucker. #franchisetag #Ravens
— Robert S. Roche (@rsrsports) February 26, 2016
The projected value for the tag for kickers is about $4.5 million, per the Worldwide Leader. That's a hefty chunk of change, but Tucker is undoubtedly worth it. The Ravens also have until July 15 to work out a new deal with Tucker, so it's not yet certain that he'll play out 2016 under the one-year tender.
And while the Ravens are tight on cap space at the moment, if Newsome can re-work quarterback Joe Flacco's deal, it could create plenty of room for the veteran personnel man to operate.
Tucker did struggle a bit this past season, at least by his standards, posting his lowest field goal percentage (82.5) and missing the most 50-plus yard attempts of his career (4-10). But Tucker wasn't alone in having a down season in 2015 as the entire Ravens squad, even Flacco, stumbled through a lost campaign.
The expectation in Baltimore is clearly that Tucker and the rest of his Ravens teammates will be back to being one of the league's elite squads in 2016.
