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Baltimore Ravens have decided to use its franchise tag on Pro Bowl kicker Justin Tucker who was set to become a free agent in two weeks. The franchise tag for kickers at the moment is set around 4.5 million dollars. The tag also gives the Ravens more time to negotiate a contract extension with Tucker.
The Baltimore Ravens have placed the franchise designation on client Justin Tucker. #franchisetag #Ravens
— Robert S. Roche (@rsrsports) February 26, 2016
Tucker has been a fan favorite among Ravens fans and has been one of the more clutch kickers in the NFL over the last four seasons since he entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2012. Tucker for his career is ranked second all-time in field goal accuracy making his kicks 87.8 percent of the time.
Tucker is about as automatic as a kicker can be inside the 40 yard line. With 79 career attempts inside the 40 yard line in the regular season, Tucker has made 78 of them. He is also 8-8 in field goal attempts in the playoffs.
The Ravens for the most part have been fortunate to have great kickers in its franchise history starting with Matt Stover and now Tucker. In a league where parity exists, each team needs all the points they can get and the Ravens realize that with Tucker.