When the NFL announced on Thursday that former Ravens kicker Justin Tucker has received a 10-game suspension under the Personal Conduct Policy, the initial reaction based on the bare-bones statement was that the league completed its investigation and its in-house legal process with a finding that Tucker had done what he was accused of doing during one or more massage-therapy sessions.
It quickly became clear that the suspension didn’t result from the procedures created by the NFL. It came from a negotiation between the league, the union, and Tucker.
And that’s what made aspects of the statement issued by Tucker’s representative confusing. Especially at the outset.
“We are disappointed with the NFL’s decision,” Rob Roche began in the comment that was widely distributed to reporters and for the most part disseminated with little if any context or explanation.
The NFL’s “decision” wasn’t to suspend Tucker 10 games. It was to propose (presumably) a longer suspension if the process played out and to offer Tucker a 10-game suspension. It was Tucker’s “decision” to accept the 10-game suspension.
That fact, obscured by Roche’s statement, is an important one. Tucker accepted a 10-game suspension for something he loudly insisted he didn’t do.
“Justin has always strived to carry himself in a way that would make his family and community proud,” Roche added. “He stands by his previous statements.”
But does he? Who accepts a punishment for something they know they didn’t do — especially when reasonable minds will be inclined to include that accepting a 10-game suspension represents an admission of responsibility?
“In order to put this difficult episode behind him and get back on the field as soon as possible, we have advised Justin to accept this resolution and close this matter,” Roche said. “The people who know Justin best know his character and understand that while he remains fully committed to excellence as a football player, he is deeply dedicated to his most important lifetime roles as a father, husband, and friend.”
It’s one thing to advise Tucker to take a one-game or a two-game suspension. Ten games sends a much different message. Ten games suggests that Roche and others feared the league would emerge from the hearing before retired judge Sue L. Robinson with a much longer suspension.
And so, on one hand, Tucker still says he didn’t do anything. On the other hand, he has accepted a TEN-GAME SUSPENSION for something he swears he didn’t do. That’s a difficult needle to thread, especially if he plans to eventually sue the Baltimore Banner for defamation based on the reporting that sparked this situation in late January.
For a defamation case to fly, Tucker will have to prove that the information was false (and that the Banner knew it was false or acted with reckless disregard to the truth or falsity of the information, since Tucker is a public figure). The suspension means, as a practical matter, that Tucker will also need to show that even the NFL was duped by the false allegations.
The criminal hacking case against former Michigan assistant Matt Weiss has sparked civil litigation. That civil litigation has now ensnared his former boss.
Via the Associated Press, former Michigan coach (and current Chargers coach) Jim Harbaugh was added to a lawsuit on Friday arising from the Weiss hacking scandal.
The amended complaint alleges that Harbaugh and others knew Weiss was viewing private information through digital hacking in December 2022 but still allowed him to work in a playoff game a week later.
“The university’s delay in taking meaningful protective action until after a high-stakes game sends a clear message: Student welfare was secondary,” said attorney Parker Stinar, the lead counsel in a class action based on Weiss’s alleged misconduct.
While we’ve yet to review the specific allegations against Harbaugh and others (including Michigan A.D. Warde Manuel), the claims presumably sweep more broadly, likely claiming negligent supervision of Weiss throughout his time at Michigan.
The Chargers didn’t respond to a request for comment regarding the Weiss situation after he was charged. At the annual meetings in March, Harbaugh was asked about the situation. “Shocked. Completely shocked. Disturbed,” he said.
The next question becomes whether the litigation will eventually spread to the Ravens, where he worked on John Harbaugh’s staff before taking a job with Jim Harbaugh at Michigan. That will depend on whether evidence is developed showing the Ravens knew or should have known that Weiss was hacking into private information — especially if there’s evidence that he was using any equipment owned by the Ravens to do so.
The 10-game suspension imposed on Ravens kicker Justin Tucker was not the result of a quasi-formal hearing followed by a quasi-legal ruling. Instead, the punishment flowed from negotiations between and among the NFL, the NFL Players Association, and Tucker’s representatives.
That’s the word from Mark Maske of the Washington Post, which also means that there will be no appeal from Tucker. The case is over, the suspension is final, and Tucker will miss 10 games without pay to begin the 2025 season.
On the surface, the willingness of Tucker to take a 10-game suspension contradicts his steadfast denial of wrongdoing, based on accusations from multiple individuals regarding misconduct during massage-therapy sessions. Tucker essentially pleaded guilty (or at a minimum no contest) and accepted a 10-game banishment.
Tucker may have done it in order to expedite the outcome of the case. No one has shown interest in him since he was cut by the Ravens. No one would have shown interest in him while the situation was unresolved.
Then there’s the possibility that the league planned to seek a longer punishment if/when the case went before Judge Sue L. Robinson, the hearing officer for alleged violations of the Personal Conduct Policy. If the league planned to push for, say, a full-season suspension, 10 games would be a potential compromise.
Regardless, Tucker has accepted a 10-game suspension. And it’s hard to reconcile that with his claim that he did nothing to justify scrutiny.
The NFL has suspended free agent kicker Justin Tucker for the first 10 weeks of the 2025 regular season for violating the league’s personal conduct policy, the league announced Thursday.
The Ravens cut Tucker on May 5, designating him as a post-June 1 release for cap reasons.
Sixteen massage therapists from eight high-end Baltimore-area spas have accused Tucker of sexual misconduct. All of the alleged misconduct reportedly occurred between 2012-16.
Tucker has denied all allegations, and he has described the Baltimore Banner‘s reporting as “desperate tabloid fodder.”
With the length of Tucker’s suspension now known, Tucker could seek to find work late this season when he’s reinstated.
Tucker, though, is coming off the worst season of his 13-year career. He missed 10 total kicks in 2024, with his 73.3 conversion rate on field goals ranking 31st in the NFL.
Tucker, 35, was on a Hall of Fame trajectory with seven Pro Bowls and a 90.2 conversion rate on his field goal attempts in his first 12 seasons. He holds the NFL record for the longest field goal, kicking a 66-yard game-winner in 2021.
Tucker signed a four-year, $22 million contract extension in August 2022, making him the league’s highest-paid kicker at the time.
The Ravens drafted wide receiver Devontez Walker in 2024, but he might be really making his presence known in 2025.
Walker only played 57 offensive snaps as a rookie and he only had one catch, although he made the most of it by scoring a touchdown in a win over the Giants. Walker otherwise spent his time playing on special teams and learning the offense, which appears to be paying off this offseason.
Walker said he felt he “wasn’t able to go out there and run full speed” because he didn’t have a full grasp of what he was doing as a rookie, but is now confident that he is “able to get lined up and go out there and play as fast as possible.” Head coach John Harbaugh noticed the change over the course of the team’s spring work.
“Every day, all he does is show up and go 100 miles an hour,” Harbaugh said, via the team’s website. “He’s got a chance to be really good.”
DeAndre Hopkins signed with Baltimore as a free agent and they have Rashod Bateman and Zay Flowers back as well, so Walker’s strong spring will have to translate to the summer in order for him to snatch the playing time that didn’t come his way as a rookie.
