Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome confirmed Wednesday that they will use their franchise tag on free agent K Justin Tucker if they’re unable to reach agreement on a long-term contract in the coming weeks.
Newsome said that they’ve already had some discussions, and even if they tag Tucker, they would continue to work on a long-term deal.
The franchise tag would run the Ravens close to $4.5 million fully guaranteed for the 2016 season, but would also buy them some additional time to negotiate a long-term deal that would come with a lower cap figure.
Tucker, 26, has been among the league’s best kickers since entering the league, so it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that Baltimore is likely to do whatever it takes to keep him with the team.
In 2015, Tucker appeared in 16 games for the Ravens and converted 33 of 40 field goal attempts (82.5 percent) to go along with all 29 extra point tries. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 1 kicker out of 60 qualifying players.
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