Ravens Coach Taps Tyer Loop To Kick In Week 1, Then Competition Continues

Ravens rookie head coach Jesse Minter continues to speak as if Tyler Loop is his kicker for Week 1 but is making no guarantees beyond that.

The Ravens signed veteran Jake Moody to the practice squad last week in response to Loop’s suspect preseason performance and real questions remain about his consistency and ability to make kicks from 50 yards or more. He missed three of eight in the exhibitions after a season-ending 44-yard miss in Pittsburgh in Week 18, and for the first time since being drafted a year ago, Loop is being pushed by an older and more experienced kicker.

Minter said thus far the returns have been great – it begs the question of why that wasn’t always a hallmark of a 90-man offseason roster – and the youngster is feeding off the challenge. While Minter didn’t speak in too many certainties, his comments both last week and this week indicate a preference to keep Loop on the active roster heading to Indianapolis Sunday while the two continue to both kick at practice.

“To Tyler's credit, he's responded really well to bringing somebody in at his position,” Minter said at his Monday press conference. “Just like anybody [would] have - if you bring a guy in at their position, normally it brings out the best when you've got the right type of guy.

“I don't think he's missed a kick since we brought Jake in. Jake's done really well as well. It's protecting the team, protecting the long-term outlook of the team. I have a lot of confidence in Tyler. I have a lot of confidence in him going into this first game to kick really well.”

Week By Week

Game outcomes will dictate the tenor of this roster spot through the season – “It’s a performance business,” is how general manager Eric DeCosta put it last week - and it goes without saying that anything Loop struggles with - field goals, extra points or kickoffs - could lead to an immediate change taking place at any point. It’s also possible that at some point another team signs Moody – a former third-round pick who performed well in Washington late last season – to its active roster.

The Ravens have their home debut against the Saints Week 2, travel to Brazil in Week 3 (the field conditions in those soccer stadiums tend to be soft and can be very tough on kickers) and Loop must show that he can deliver from beyond 50 yards. Moody has also struggled in that regard, from distance, but has experience with Minter from the University of Michigan and with offensive coordinator Declan Doyle in Chicago.

So it appears to be Loop’s job heading into the opener, and then everything is open to further consideration (these three other obvious areas of concern with the roster had best be top of mind as well for DeCosta, who has done a poor job of maintaining in-season rosters for years now with a pro personnel staff light on finding waiver gems).

“After that (Week 1), not to play into the hypothetical, but every position, really other than a few super established guys, is a week-to-week thing,” Minter said. “It's about going out there this week and producing and doing your job and doing what you're supposed to do. [I] have a lot of confidence that he'll do that, but again it's about having things available just in case it doesn't go the way you want it to go."

Moody lost the job in Washington to a young kicker this summer. He has kicked for three NFL teams and improved after struggling mightily under the weight of being selected so high by the 49ers as they contended for Super Bowls.

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