Justin Tucker has made a name for himself as one of the NFL‘s great kickers since entering the league as an undrafted free agent in 2012. The veteran is one of the most consistent options in league history and has delivered in big moment after big moment, often accomplishing the improbable as a crucial part of the Baltimore Ravens‘ success year in and year out.
Justin Tucker’s Storied NFL Career
Tucker has amassed quite the résumé as one of the league’s all-time greatest kickers despite his humble beginnings.
He spent four years kicking at the University of Texas, knocking through 40 of 48 field-goal attempts and all 71 of his point-after tries for 190 career points. He was also a successful rugby-style punter at the school with 155 punts for 6,283 yards, an average of just over 40 yards per punt.
Tucker then went the professional route in 2012. He was not selected in that year’s NFL Draft but later signed with the Ravens as an undrafted free agent.
The rest is history, as Tucker won the starting kicker job in training camp and has been a dependable player for Baltimore ever since. He’s made 395 of 438 career field-goal attempts (90.2%) and knocked through 464 of 470 extra points.
The seven-time Pro Bowler has made 58 field goals of 50+ yards, including a career-high 10 of them in 2016. Tucker hit a 61-yard attempt in 2013 for his first career kick beyond 60 yards before upping his personal-best distance to where it stands now with a 66-yard make in 2021.
That 2021 kick holds plenty of significance as well, given it was a game-winner as time expired to give the Ravens a 19-17 victory over the Detroit Lions. Not only that, but his 66-yard boot also stands as the NFL’s record for longest-made field goal, two yards ahead of Matt Prater’s second-place mark of 64 yards set in 2013.
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Tucker’s previous career-long 61-yard make, for reference, is just outside the top 12.
It’s clutch kicks like that one which Tucker has become known for throughout his storied NFL career. The veteran has nailed at least 18 game-winning field goals during his 12-year professional career.
Tucker posted another successful regular season in 2023, making 32 of his 37 field-goal tries with just one of the misses coming from less than 50 yards out. He also missed just one extra point, converting 51 of 52 through 17 games for a Ravens team that finished with the league’s best regular-season record.
Time will tell whether Tucker has more heroics in store during this year’s postseason as Baltimore takes on the Kansas City Chiefs in Sunday’s AFC Championship Game.
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