The Ravens signed Justin Tucker to a four-year extension Monday, rewarding the All-Pro kicker with an NFL-best deal that he mentioned “will more than ensure that I will be a Raven for life.”
Tucker’s deal, which extends his contract via 2027, will hold him because the league’s highest-paid kicker. The contract is value $24 million, or $6 million yearly, and consists of $17.5 million assured and an $11.5 million signing bonus, according to ESPN.
“I feel beyond blessed,” Tucker, 32, mentioned after Monday’s coaching camp apply. “I’m fired up, I’m motivated — all the things that I was feeling before I signed, but … maybe a little bit more after putting pen to paper. But no, I’m fired up. I’m blessed. I know that I get to come to work at an amazing place with amazing people. We get to continue working on building something great and working toward championships. Just to know that I will be in the plans for exactly that makes me feel very special.”
Tucker’s deal got here collectively rapidly. He recalled joking to educate John Harbaugh at a current apply that an extension might be finalized “in, like, five minutes. And sure enough, it took about five minutes.” The extension was introduced only a week after the Pittsburgh Steelers signed Chris Boswell to a four-year, $20 million contract extension, which tied Tucker’s contract for annual common worth.
“You knew it was going to happen,” Harbaugh mentioned Monday. He praised Tucker not just for his kicking skill but additionally for being “the kind of leader he is, the guy he is to be around, just being out here, the mindset that he takes in terms of his work ethic, also his sense of humor, his understanding of the moment. … We’re happy to have him back.”
Said Tucker: “What was and continues to be most important to me is just being in the plans for building a championship and feeling valued as a part of that process. So, listen, this deal, for sure, checks all the boxes for me. And for all intents and purposes, this is the type of deal that will more than ensure that I will be a Raven for life. And for that alone, I couldn’t be more happy.”
Tucker’s extension comes after a powerful 2021 season, throughout which he led the NFL in field-goal accuracy (95.6%) and extra-point accuracy (100%). Tucker transformed two game-winning area objectives, together with an NFL-record 66-yarder in a victory over the Detroit Lions in Week 3, and enters 2022 having made 58 straight fourth-quarter and extra time field-goal makes an attempt.
Tucker, a five-time Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro choice, is essentially the most correct kicker in league historical past and among the many greatest-ever specialists. In a current ESPN survey of consultants, reporters and analysts, former New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri simply edged Tucker in voting on the perfect participant in NFL historical past on the place.
Tucker has made 91.1% of his profession field-goal makes an attempt, 99% of his extra-point makes an attempt and is the primary kicker in NFL historical past to register at the least 130 factors in six straight seasons. Since 2012, Tucker ranks first within the NFL in area objectives made (326) and factors (1,360). His 1,360 factors scored are additionally essentially the most within the first 10 seasons of a profession in NFL historical past.
When he was requested after a coaching camp apply Sunday about his chance of creating the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Tucker dismissed the suggestion and praised his teammates.
“I really try not to think about that stuff,” he mentioned. “I actually attempt to make it a degree to take it one kick at a time. That’s one thing that I heard from my agent popping out of school, and it’s a few of the greatest recommendation I’ve ever gotten, proper subsequent to my grandfather once I was attempting out for the highschool varsity staff at Westlake [High School] in Austin [Texas]. He mentioned, ‘Justin, just kick the damn ball.’ …
“My focus is much more on just taking it one kick at a time, one practice at a time, one game at a time. … They’re not even just saying it about me; they’re saying it about us; they’re saying it about what the Ravens’ specialists and their coaches have been able to put together, as a whole, collectively. So, yes, I think about it as, ‘Oh, that’s nice,’ but I’ve still got to take it one kick at a time, and there is a lot more than just me kicking the ball.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com