Ravens place franchise tag on K Justin Tucker
The Baltimore Ravens have placed their franchise tag on kicker Justin Tucker, his agent, Robert Roche, announced Friday.
Tucker has been with the Ravens for all four years of his NFL career. He posted a perfect 29 for 29 mark on extra points, and made 33 of 40 field goal attempts in 2015.
By tagging Tucker, the Ravens ensure he does not become a free agent this off-season as they continue to negotiate a contract extension. Tucker signed a one-year, $2.4 million contract with the Ravens for the 2015 season.
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The franchise tag has an estimated value of $4.5 million, according to NFL.com.
The move was expected after Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome said this week that if no deal was reached soon, he would put the tag on Tucker.
“We’ve had some discussions, but we will franchise Justin if we do not get a deal done,” Newsome had said, according to NFL.com. “Even if we do franchise him, we will continue to work to negotiate to try and get a deal done.”
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The team had until March 1 to decide to use the franchise tag on Tucker, and the deadline to negotiate a long-term deal before the terms of the tag go into effect is July 15.
- Erin Flynn
