Ravens Failure To Secure Kicker Jake Moody To Active Roster Baffles NFL Execs

The Ravens losing kicker Jake Moody – who they had been grooming as a possible replacement for struggling youngster Tyler Loop - is the latest roster blight and bizarre decision for a front office that is making it their brand lately.

Whether or not Moody solidifies himself in the league remains to be seen, but getting the chance to kick in Atlanta, a dome team, in a division in which weather isn’t nearly as big of a problem this time of year (NFC South) will certainly help his chances. The fact that the Ravens made zero effort to add Moody to their active roster not only at the time they signed him to the practice squad to replace Loop, who was struggling mightily before his groin injury last month, but at any point since, is difficult to fathom.

Moody booted a 50-yard field goal in the rain in Thursday’s latest debacle, a 33-10 loss to the Jags (their fourth straight). He is someone Ravens kicking guru Randy Brown identified back in the summer as a potential replacement for Loop if the youngster could not get more consistent in his second season. Baltimore originally brought in Moody to serve as competition before the season began and then signed him back to the practice squad in-season as Loop began to miss chip-shot field goals and struggled with clutch kicks (though he did hit a game-winner Week 3 in Brazil).

Loop could still return from injury to kick this season, but it was strongly implied that Moody could be preferred to him prior to the groin situation emerging after a loss to Cleveland in Week 6. Loop continued to struggle with kickoffs, too, and rookie head coach Jesse Minter – looking totally overmatched so far – expressed serious frustration with Loop prior to him being placed on Injured Reserve.

“We'll continue to work with him and continue to try to put him in position, but we need to make second-half kicks,” Minter said after his miss at Cleveland. “You could argue that second-half missed field goals are no different than turning the ball over in those situations. So, [that's] definitely something we want to keep striving to be better at."

The move to Moody was about performance more than anything else. And now they have neither kicker, and may have to turn to someone like aging Nick Folk, who the Falcons just cut.

What Happened?

Oct 11, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Baltimore Ravens kicker Tyler Loop (33) kicks a field goal during the second quarter against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

According to multiple personnel executives we’ve chatted with in recent weeks, the state of kicking is bleak and there are few options on the street. Moody looked good in Washington to finish last year, kickers can be late bloomers, he has a pedigree as someone the 49ers invested a Day Two draft pick in, he had a nice preseason, and there are limited options. So the fact that other teams were watching him closely shouldn’t have been lost on the Ravens, but then again they seem to be a fog since last season.

“Atlanta is kind of rebuilding, they want to go with a younger guy with more upside,” one NFL personnel exec said, explaining the dynamic. “And the Ravens have to know there isn’t anything out there. They were just looking at the options before they brought Moody in. There aren’t enough good kickers right now. So if you have one, you need to protect yourself.”

By that he means, keep him signed to the active roster.

The Ravens merely elevated Moody from the practice squad to the active roster for last week’s game, but his roster spot remains on the PS. There was nothing stopping them from just giving him a 53-man roster spot once they knew he was taking over for Loop (most likely for the duration of the season if he was any good). Instead, they abstained and any team could contract Moody at any time with an offer on their active roster, and the Falcons pounced.

“It’s an unforced error,” said another longtime NFL personnel exec who acquired multiple kickers from various means over his career. “No other way you can put it. What the (heck) is going on over there? How does that happen in the NFL? He makes that kick Thursday, just sign him to the active roster …

“If you are this kid (Moody), would you rather be going out there to kick in Baltimore and Pittsburgh and Cincinnati in November and December, out in all of that (weather), or in Atlanta? DeCosta never thought about that? Maybe the other kid comes back (Loop) and he can do the job, but there aren’t enough kickers out there to be giving them away.”

Executives around the NFL have been calling out the Ravens implosions in real-time going back to pulling out of the Maxx Crosby trade in March for alleged health concerns, and with their lack of traction getting MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson signed to contract extensions, putting them in a perilous spot in 2027. DeCosta has had nothing short of a failure 2025/2026, it seems obvious to other NFL GMs they should have been marketing veterans for sale well ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline, in a robust way, and serious questions are being asked about the stewardship and direction of the franchise.

They have massive potential roster questions looming at QB (pending where Jackson wants to be next season), as well as left tackle, center, cornerback and safety - for starters - and an untenable salary cap situation to boot. Probably safe to add kicker to that mix, as well.

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