Ravens Justin Tucker Thinking About Next Kick, Not Retirement
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Ravens kicker Justin Tucker gets asked about his future a lot nowadays.
It only makes sense since he entering his 10th season in the league and he turns 31 in November.
"We’re just getting started. In all seriousness, it is a day-to-day thing," Tucker said. "It’s not even day-to-day; it’s one kick to the next – just make the next kick, whether it’s in team reps or on Field 3 on our own with just Nick [Moore] and Sam [Koch] and [special teams coordinator] Chris [Horton] and [special teams coach] T.J. [Weist] and [special teams coach] Randy [Brown].
"It’s always been, ‘Make the next kick.’ I don’t really allow myself time to think about, ‘How long do I want to keep playing or what accolades may I be able to achieve?’ All that stuff will kind of take care of itself."
Tucker is the most accurate kicker in NFL history (90.7%), connecting on 291-of-321 FG attempts. He also owns 16-career game-winning field goals (15 regular season and one playoff), connecting on 10 of those in road games
In 2020, Tucker connected on 26-of-29 (89.7) field goals attempts and 52-of-53 (98.1) PATs, en route to his fourth overall and second consecutive Pro Bowl nod.
He finished with at least 130 points for his fifth-consecutive season, tying the NFL record of consecutive seasons with 130-plus points (Stephen Gostkowski, 2011-15 and David Akers, 2008-12)
"I’m just enjoying the ride," Tucker said. "Anthony Levine Sr. said it best: We break down practice every day with a wise word. A veteran player will get up and have something to say, and Anthony Levine Sr. was one of the first guys to get up and say something, and he just said, ‘This is the year of enjoyment.’
"Everything that we do, whether it’s the monotonous grind of training camp, every little thing that we do that leads to the real deal, that leads to playing on Sundays, you’ve got to just find a way to enjoy it, and it’s pretty easy to do that when you have such a great group to be around every single day."
Tucker is one of the Ravens' most popular players and often hangs around the field after training camp to mingle with the fans.
In Week 6 of 2019, became the fastest kicker in NFL he, became the fastest kicker in NFL history (118 games) to score 1,000 career points.
"I can’t speak highly enough of my teammates and what we’re able to put together on a daily basis," Tucker said. "So, all of the accolades, especially the individual ones, that stuff will figure itself out. I’m just enjoying myself. I’m enjoying my time with my teammates, with my friends, with my coaches, and all that stuff will just sort itself out.”
