Justin Tucker is an All-Pro kicker and a pretty good golfer, too, so of course he gets the comparisons. The mechanics, the repetition, the mental stress — there’s a lot of overlap between the skills.
One big difference, though: “I only use one club,” Tucker joked Thursday, after the Ravens’ final open training camp practice. “I only use driver. A golfer’s got to have a drive, he’s got to have an approach shot, he’s got to have his bunker shots, he’s got to be able to putt. He’s got to have the ability to do all of those things. And for the most part, occasionally, you have a specialty kick, like a squib kick or an onside kick. But, for the most part, it’s one club.”
The NFL’s new kickoff rules mean Tucker doesn’t always have to reach for driver. They could also make it more effective when he needs to hit a bomb that splits the uprights.
With the Ravens embracing the upside of the league’s new “landing zone” — the area between the receiving team’s end zone and 20-yard line in which kickoffs must be returned — Tucker estimated that the Ravens would enter the season with “somewhere between eight and nine kicks.” In the team’s preseason opener Friday against the Philadelphia Eagles, he landed three of his four kickoffs between the 1- and 9-yard lines, after blasting the first into the end zone for a touchback. (Teams that down a kick in the end zone now start at their own 30-yard line.)
Ravens senior special teams coach Randy Brown, who’s worked closely with Tucker over his career, said, under the NFL’s previous kickoff rules, he would limit Tucker to kicking off maybe once a week, “because it’s an intense kick.” With placement now prioritized over power, the workload of double duty is more manageable.
“It takes a little bit of wear and tear off the body,” Brown said. “So we’ve practiced it [kickoffs] a little bit more in this camp. In past preseasons, I haven’t been very excited for him to kick in it.”
Said Tucker: “It’s something we’ve been working on since the rule went into effect and something that we’re going to continue working on. And I feel like when we come into the regular season … we’re going to have a lot of stuff ready to go.”
If training camp field goals are any indication, Tucker’s right leg has plenty of power. He hit a 68-yarder in Tuesday’s practice, 2 yards longer than his NFL-record kick against the Detroit Lions in 2021.
The Ravens don’t need Tucker, 34, to transform into the NFL’s Bryson DeChambeau, bombing kicks from absurd distances. But a less intense kickoff could help Tucker, 34, on long-range field goals. Over the past two seasons, according to TruMedia, he’s 49-for-51 on kicks of 49 yards or shorter — and 10-for-19 on kicks of at least 50 yards.
“I just plan on being ready to go and ready to put the ball through the uprights, any place, anytime,” Tucker said. “Whenever Harbs [coach John Harbaugh] sends me out there, it’s for a reason: to come back with three points.”
Attendance
Running back Rasheen Ali (stinger), wide receivers Russell Gage and Devontez Walker, tight end Mark Andrews, center Tyler Linderbaum (soft-tissue injury), inside linebackers Chris Board (concussion) and Josh Ross, defensive back Christian Matthew, and safeties Kyle Hamilton and Sanoussi Kane (stinger) missed practice Thursday. Running back Keaton Mitchell (knee) and cornerback Arthur Maulet (knee) remain sidelined.
Cornerback Nate Wiggins, who suffered a minor shoulder injury in the Ravens’ preseason opener, returned to practice as a limited participant.
Stock report
- The Ravens shortened their scheduled practice from 2 hours, 30 minutes to about 1 hour, 40 minutes, focusing mainly on 11-on-11 execution ahead of Saturday’s preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons.
- Quarterback Lamar Jackson and the first-string offense matched up primarily against the defense’s second- and third-string players, with a half-speed pass rush. Unofficially, Jackson went 18-for-24. His only rough patch came in a red-zone period in which he went 0-for-3 and threw an interception to undrafted rookie inside linebacker Yvandy Rigby after forcing a pass over the middle to wide receiver Anthony Miller. (Tight end Isaiah Likely also drew a pass interference penalty on undrafted rookie cornerback Bump Cooper Jr. in the period.)
- Undrafted rookie tight end Qadir Ismail had one of the most notable celebrations of camp, simulating a reverse dunk on a goalpost after taking a medium-range catch to the end zone. On his long jog back to the huddle, Ismail signaled to fans to make noise. Ismail, one of the surprises of camp, later had a touchdown catch over safety Ar’Darius Washington in a red-zone drill.
- Cooper continued his strong recent form, breaking up passes to wide receivers Deonte Harty and Malik Cunningham and helping force an incompletion in coverage against tight end Charlie Kolar. The Oregon State product is a long shot to make the roster, but he’s seemingly playing himself into at least a practice squad spot.
