Ravens Franchise Tag Goes To Justin Tucker
In a story that is not a surprise by any stretch of the imagination, it has been reported that Justin Tucker has been franchised tagged by the Baltimore Ravens. Tucker’s $4.5 million tag allows Baltimore to keep a very good kicker.
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The Ravens will still try to get a longterm deal done with the historically accurate field goal kicker. One way or another it looks like he will be wearing number 9 for the Ravens for at least another season.
This confirms what we already knew. Tucker was the only sensible candidate for the franchise tag. Tagging Kelechi Osemele would have cost the Ravens about $13 million for the 2016 season. While it would be nice to keep the Pro Bowl caliber guard, that cap hit is not something the Ravens can handle.
Justin Tucker is about as clutch of a kicker as the NFL has. He routinely hits game winners. The importance of Tucker was illustrated in the 2012 playoffs. Imagine having the “Mile High Miracle” game come down to a Billy Cundiff kick. Without a clutch kicker, the 70 yard touchdown pass at the end of regulation could have just delayed a Broncos win.
It is worth noting that Tucker is the coolest kicker in the NFL. In fact it is not even close. Tucker is an opera quality singer and he has a great personality. His CarBiz commercial spoofing Matthew Macconaughey’s Lincoln commercials is hilarious. It seemed that no kicker would ever be beloved in Baltimore the way that Matt Stover was. Tucker may have proven that idea wrong.