The Baltimore Ravens had been blessed to feature one of the best kickers in the game, Justin Tucker, on their special teams unit for over a decade. But after a slew of sexual misconduct allegations came out this offseason, the team decided to move on from him, meaning there will be a new kicker in Baltimore for the first time since 2012, which led the front office to make a move at the position recently.
With Tucker’s status up in the air, the Ravens decided to use a sixth-round draft pick on Tyler Loop, who spent five seasons in college with the Arizona Wildcats. While the team’s hope is that Loop can make the starting job his own, he isn’t going to have a free pass, as Baltimore opted to bring in some competition for him as training camp continues to draw near.
Ravens Sign John Hoyland as Undrafted Free Agent
Loop initially started off as a punter for Arizona in 2020 before becoming the team’s kicker, where he nailed all 12 of his field goal attempts for the Wildcats. Loop only missed two of his 128 extra point attempts during his time in college, and while he wasn’t always the most accurate when it came to his field goal attempts (he missed five of his 23 kicks in 2024), he has a big leg that has Baltimore hoping he can become a star kicker.
Given that rookie kickers are hit-or-miss in the NFL, though, the Ravens knew immediately that Loop wasn’t going to be their only option at kicker heading into the season. Going from Tucker, who is the most accurate kicker in NFL history, having made 89.1% of his field goal attempts, to an unproven rookie is a bit of a daunting move, and Baltimore could struggle with this transition, even though Tucker struggled in 2024, hitting just 73.3% of his kicks.
That led to the front office exploring veterans or undrafted free agents who could come in and compete with Loop. On Monday night, that resulted in the team signing undrafted Wyoming Cowboys kicker John Hoyland to a contract after they brought him in for a tryout last week, as he will be Loop’s primary competitor for the starting kicker job.
“A week after releasing seven-time Pro Bowl kicker Justin Tucker, the Baltimore Ravens added competition for his potential replacement. On Monday, the Ravens signed undrafted Wyoming rookie John Hoyland after a tryout last week. He will battle sixth-round pick Tyler Loop to be Baltimore’s kicker this season,” Jamison Hensley of ESPN reported.
Ravens Hoping One of Tyler Loop, John Hoyland Can Snag Kicker Job
GettyThe Ravens have signed John Hoyland to compete with Tyler Loop for the starting kicker job
Hoyland also spent five seasons in college, all with Wyoming. Similar to Loop, Hoyland’s accuracy waned at times, as he only had two seasons where he made over 80% of his field goal attempts. Hoyland isn’t necessarily the best long-range kicker, but he’s nearly automatic on kicks from 40 yards and under, as he missed just two such kicks on 54 attempts during his time with the Cowboys.
Considering the fact that the Ravens invested draft capital on Loop, he will have the inside track to earn the starting gig. That may not earn him much, though, as some early struggles could result in Hoyland having a real shot to land a starting job in the NFL.
Ravens Announce Signing of New Kicker to Compete for Starting Job