Winners and losers. It can be an informative, analytical and even fun framing device whenever notable NFL (or fill in the sport) news occurs. Whether it’s the aftermath of a big game, trade, draft, you name it – there are typically two sides of a coin to examine.
That wasn’t the case Thursday, when the league issued its 10-week suspension to former Ravens kicker Justin Tucker, whose banishment will take effect Aug. 26 – whether or not the free agent is employed by a team by then.And, yeah, some rookie you’ve never heard of is going to benefit from the fact that Baltimore had already cut ties with Tucker, creating an open job to compete for in training camp later this summer. But there are no winners from this sad saga. There are most definitely losers, though, and they are as follows:Justin Tucker
Duh. On the one hand, he ought to be grateful the NFL’s announcement was, per usual, devoid of any details regarding his violation of the league’s personal conduct policy. And unlike the penalty the league levied against Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson three years ago, in what can only be described as similar circumstances − at the time, 24 women had filed civil suits against him involving allegations of sexual misconduct during massage therapy sessions − Tucker has not been fined nor been ordered to undergo treatment or an evaluation. Watson was, and he had to pay $5 millionBut Tucker is radioactive. Last season was decidedly the worst of his 13-year career. Tucker, still the most accurate kicker in NFL history, converted a career-low 73.3% of his field-goal attempts. It gave the Ravens a convenient excuse to cut a 35-year-old player who was at the top of his positional compensation scale. And in light of the sexual misconduct allegations made by Baltimore-area massage therapists for incidents that reportedly occurred between 2012 and 2016, no team was likely to touch Tucker before the league completed its investigation into the matter – and there will undoubtedly be less consideration for him now given he won’t be eligible to return until Nov. 11.
