Justin Tucker
Justin Paul Tucker is an American professional football placekicker. He played college football for the Texas Longhorns and signed with the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2012, spending 13 seasons with the team. Regarded as one of the greatest placekickers ever, Tucker previously held the NFL record for longest field goal at 66 yards and is third in career field goal percentage at. He has also been named to seven Pro Bowls and five first-team All-Pro teams, and was a member of the Ravens team that won Super Bowl XLVII.
Early life
Tucker attended Westlake High School in Austin, Texas. At Westlake, he was a teammate of future NFL quarterback Nick Foles, tight end Kyle Adams, and linebacker Bryce Hager. Tucker played wide receiver, safety, and placekicker on the Westlake Chaparrals. He also played soccer from age three or four up until his sophomore year. Tucker played in the 2008 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.College career
Tucker attended the University of Texas at Austin and played on the Longhorns football team. In 2011, concluding a rivalry that saw Texas A&M University and the University of Texas square off 118 times over 117 years, he kicked the game-winning field goal as time expired. Texas, then ranked No. 25, won 27–25. Although Tucker finished his college football career with an 83.3% field-goal conversion percentage, which was the third-best in the program's history, Tucker was not invited to the East-West Shrine Game, Senior Bowl or the NFL Scouting Combine.Originally a communications major, Tucker switched to recording technology and studied under Nikita Storojev at the Sarah and Ernest Butler School of Music where he learned to sing operatically in English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Latin, and Russian. Tucker graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in music a semester early in order to train for the NFL draft.
Professional career
2012
To help promote himself for the draft, Tucker shot an uncut and unedited five-minute YouTube video of him making all 10 of his field goal attempts from left, right and center angles and distances ranging from 30 to 55 yards out. At the end, Tucker looked at the camera and said, "Pick me." After not being among the four kickers selected in the 2012 NFL draft, Tucker signed as an undrafted free agent with the Baltimore Ravens on May 29, to begin workouts and camp for the Ravens alongside placekicker Billy Cundiff. After Tucker's preseason performance, he was named the starter and Cundiff was released.In his debut season, Tucker proved to be a very accurate kicker, making all 42 of his extra point attempts and missing only three out of his 33 field goals. During a narrow Week 3 31–30 victory over the New England Patriots, Tucker kicked the game-winning 27-yard field goal. The field goal ended up being a source of controversy because the ball was kicked over the top of the right upright and clear replays showed that the ball was extremely close to sailing wide of the upright. However, the kick was ruled "good" by the replacement referees and since field goals are not reviewable, the play could not be reviewed, giving Baltimore the victory. In Week 12 against the San Diego Chargers, Tucker kicked the game-tying and game-winning field goal at the end of regulation and in overtime respectively in a 16–13 road victory.
On January 12, 2013, during the Divisional Round against the Denver Broncos, Tucker kicked a 47-yard field goal in double overtime to win the game on the road 38–35 and sent the Ravens to the AFC Championship Game for the second consecutive year. During the second quarter of Super Bowl XLVII against the San Francisco 49ers, Tucker failed in completing the first fake field goal attempt in Super Bowl history, coming up just one yard short of the nine needed for the first down. Nonetheless, his two fourth-quarter field goals secured a 34–31 victory for the Ravens, earning Tucker his first Super Bowl ring.
2013
Despite missing two field goals in Week 2 against the Cleveland Browns, Tucker continued his success as an accurate kicker for the Ravens. In Week 5 against the Miami Dolphins, Tucker kicked the go-ahead 44-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter to give the Ravens a 26–23 road victory. He also kicked the game-winning 46-yard field goal in overtime against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 10, letting the Ravens win 20–17. Tucker was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for November. On Thanksgiving, Tucker kicked five field goals en route to a narrow 22–20 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was also selected as the player of the game along with Jacoby Jones by John Madden. Tucker brought his holder, Sam Koch and long snapper, Morgan Cox, to accept the award on screen with him.In 2013, Tucker kicked a franchise record-tying six field goals that were the Ravens' only points in a narrow 18–16 victory over the Detroit Lions at Ford Field in Detroit on December 16, including a game-winning 61-yard field goal in the last minute of the game. During the game, Tucker became the first kicker in NFL history to kick a field goal in the 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s in the same game. His 61-yard field goal set the NFL record for longest field goal in a domed stadium; Tucker would break his own record almost eight years later in the same stadium. Tucker was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week thrice: Week 10, Week 12, and Week 15. He finished the year leading the league in field goal attempts and makes, earning his first Pro Bowl selection as well as being voted first team All-Pro by AP voters.
2014
During a narrow Week 3 23–21 road victory over the Browns, Tucker kicked a game-winning 32-yard field goal as time expired. He was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance against the Browns. Tucker won AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for November. He finished the year contributing 129 of the then-franchise-record 409 points scored by the Ravens that season. Tucker converted all 42 extra point attempts and 29 of 34 field goal attempts.2015
Tucker had his worst year statistically in 2015, missing seven field goals despite leading the league in field goal attempts. However, Tucker was also one of the lone bright spots in a season plagued by injuries. In Week 4 against the Steelers, he kicked the game-tying 42-yard and game-winning 52-yard field goals at the end of regulation and in overtime, respectively, during a 23–20 road victory. He had also kicked a 40-yard field goal earlier in the fourth quarter and was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his game against Pittsburgh. In the next game against the Browns, Tucker kicked the game-tying 25-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter, but the Ravens lost in overtime 30–33. During a Week 8 29–26 victory over the Chargers, Tucker made all five of his field goal attempts, including the game-winning 39-yard field goal as time expired. Tucker was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance against the Chargers. Three weeks later against the St. Louis Rams, Tucker made the game-tying 20-yard and game-winning 47-yard field goal in the fourth quarter with the latter coming as time expired in the 16–13 victory for the Ravens' third win of the year. However, in Week 13 against the Dolphins, Tucker missed a potential go-ahead 55-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter and the Ravens narrowly lost on the road 13–15. Overall, Tucker converted all 29 extra point attempts and 33 of 40 field goal attempts during the 2015 season.2016
On February 26, 2016, the Ravens placed the franchise tag on Tucker. He signed the franchise tender eight days later, which would pay him $4.5 million. Tucker signed a four-year, $16.8 million extension on July 15.Tucker converted a go-ahead field goal during a Week 2 25–20 road victory over the Browns before kicking a game-winning 53-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter of a narrow 19–17 road victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. He won AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for September. During a Week 12 19–14 victory over the Bengals, Tucker kicked four field goals, three from over 50 yards, earning him AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors. Three weeks later against Philadelphia Eagles, Tucker tied the NFL single-season record for 10 field goals of more than 50 yards in a narrow 27–26 victory.
Tucker finished the 2016 season, his best statistically, making all but one field goal, which was blocked in Week 14 against the Patriots, leading the league with 38 makes. He was named to his second Pro Bowl, his first since 2013, as a result of his successful season and was named First-team All-Pro for the second time in his career.
2017
Tucker was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for November. He converted all eight field attempts in the month. In 2017, Tucker completed 34 of 37 field goals and was a perfect 39-for-39 on extra points. He was named second-team All-Pro for the 2017 season.2018
During a Week 3 27–14 victory over the Broncos, Tucker made two 50+ yard field goals and three extra points. He was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance. Tucker was later named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for September. However, during Week 7, Tucker missed his first career extra point attempt against the New Orleans Saints with 24 seconds left in the game, resulting in a narrow 23–24 loss in a game that would have otherwise likely gone to overtime. During a Week 11 24–21 victory over the Bengals, Tucker kicked the go-ahead 24-yard field goal midway through the fourth quarter. In the regular-season finale against the Browns, he converted all four field goals and two extra point attempts during the narrow 26–24 road victory. Tucker was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance against the Browns. Tucker became the first player in NFL history with six seasons of 30 or more made field goals. He was named as a first team All-Pro for the third time.During the third quarter of the Wild Card Round against in the Los Angeles Chargers on January 6, 2019, Tucker missed a 50-yard field goal, his first career postseason miss. He would finish the game 1-of-2 as the Ravens lost 17–23.