The Ravens released Justin Tucker without addressing any of his off-field allegations

Justin Tucker's time with the Baltimore Ravens is over. To hear the organization tell its side of the story, his release Monday was a age-old clash of "football decisions" and declining performances — and decidedly not about the accusations of sexual misconduct from 16 different Baltimore area masseuses.

While Ravens head coach John Harbaugh publicly disclosed his "zero tolerance" policy in 2022 when discussing Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson — who faced more than 20 counts of sexual misconduct allegations from masseuses dating to his time as a Houston Texan —the franchise remained mum on Tucker's situation. While the kicker denied these allegations in two separate statements (which included a blanket apology without admitting wrongdoing in the second), the Ravens declared they would continue gathering facts before making a decision on Tucker's future.

“We want to make sure that we have a great understanding of the facts, an actual understanding of the facts, hear both sides of the situation, and that we allow the investigation to properly be conducted and concluded, and make decisions based on the full information,” general manager Sashi Brown said in late March. “We would love for this to happen a lot faster than it does. So, from our standpoint, we need to allow the investigation to conclude.”

But the Ravens didn't allow the investigation to conclude before making a move. With Tucker's accuracy dwindling, they found a potential replacement by drafting Arizona kicker Tyler Loop in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Nine days later, Tucker was released.

Rather than make a statement akin to Harbaugh's "zero tolerance" — a statement that would have likely fallen flat given the length of time from the first round of accusations in the Baltimore Banner to Monday's cut — the Ravens launched some vague platitudes Tucker's way and attempted to wash their hands of the whole situation.

Statement from Executive Vice President and General Manager Eric DeCosta pic.twitter.com/TNQrqw3me2— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) May 5, 2025

The cut comes 10 days after drafting Marshall edge rusher Mike Green, who was accused of sexual assault in both high school and at the University of Virginia. Those accusations did not lead to charges and Green has addressed the incidents in the pre-draft process, but his place in the team's draft haul led to even more questions about Harbaugh's "zero tolerance" policy.

Releasing Tucker without mentioning the mounting complaints against him allows the franchise to skirt whatever liability issues could arise from this cut while allowing fans to create their own narrative behind what happened. The easiest read is Tucker's fading accuracy dented his invincibility, allowing Baltimore to quietly move on without having to weigh the cost of rostering an alleged predator against the value he brings in the standings. The more complex one is that Harbaugh and company finally allowed pragmatism to overcome personal sentiment and understand Tucker, beneath his facade as a local hero, may not have been who they thought.

Monday's statement allows the Ravens to be accountability chameleons, avoiding the subject, directing questions back to the statement and standing for either morality or shrewd football strategy, depending on where you stand. And, thus, Baltimore managed to make the correct decision still feel like a gross one.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: The Ravens released Justin Tucker without addressing any off-field allegations