The Ravens finally brought in another kicker.
Baltimore announced its initial practice squad Monday, and there are a bunch of names on there worth talking about. But let’s be serious. The name everyone immediately noticed was Jake Moody.
Let’s dive into the surprises and how this practice squad could shape the 2026 season for the Baltimore Ravens.
The Kicker Competition: Better Late Than Never… I Guess
Moody was the only outside addition to the group, and I don’t think I need to spend much time explaining why he’s here. Tyler Loop missed three kicks this preseason from 49, 51 and 58 yards. Add that to the miss in Pittsburgh that ended last season, and at some point the Ravens had to get another kicker in the building.
However, let me be clear about this: I’m genuinely shocked it took this long.
I’ve talked about this a bunch throughout the summer. The concern with Loop isn’t that he can’t kick. We’ve seen him kick well in practice. We know Randy Brown believed in him. The problem is that when you put him in a stadium, the misses keep showing up. We saw it at the Terps Stadium practice. We saw it during the preseason games. And obviously, we saw it in Pittsburgh last year.
That’s why I’m not even sure bringing Jake Moody in now really gives Loop the competition I wanted to see. I would’ve brought someone in weeks ago. Put another kicker beside him at practice. Let them go back and forth. Put some pressure on Loop and make him win the damn job.
Instead, we’re doing this on August 31.
Now, that doesn’t mean Moody is taking his job. Jesse Minter said Monday that he still has a lot of confidence in Loop and expects him to kick Week 1 against Indianapolis.
Okay, fine.
But what happens if Loop goes out there Week 1 or Week 2 and misses another big kick?
That’s where Moody matters. He won the Lou Groza Award at Michigan, was a third-round pick by San Francisco and has kicked in a Super Bowl. There’s also the obvious Minter connection from Michigan. But Moody has his own baggage here. He lost his job in San Francisco and then couldn’t win the kicking job in Washington this summer. This isn’t Justin Tucker in his prime sitting on your practice squad waiting for a phone call.
So I don’t know how much of a real kicking competition you can have when you’re starting it basically in September. But the Ravens finally have another option in the building.
And if Loop misses a kick that costs them a game early?
That leash better be short.
