Justin Tucker

The Baltimore Ravens officially signed rookie kicker Justin Tucker. Tucker made a good impression on the Ravens during rookie camp tryouts two weeks ago.

Tucker will compete against current starting kicker Billy Cundiff. Cundiff, who has been with the team since 2009, will always be remembered for missing the game-tying field goal in the AFC championship game last season.

Tucker, an undrafted free agent from Texas, hit 40 out of 48 field goal attempts last season. During rookie camp, he made a 55-yard field goal and went 4-for-4 from inside the 50-yard line.

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said of Tucker:

“He gets really good lift on the ball, very accurate. He had a very good camp.”

It will be nice to have a kicker competition. Tucker is young and is likely to have many chances to prove that he can be an accurate and reliable kicker in the NFL. Some of us are still bitter about the way Cundiff ended last season, but like it or not he’s still on the roster and now he’s got some competition. Hopefully Tucker will come through in clutch situations by making game winning field goals.

Tucker is excited about this opportunity:

“It doesn’t matter if you’re a rookie, it doesn’t matter if you’ve been playing football for 15 years. I feel I have the mindset to step out on the field and basically do my job.”

Let the competition begin…