Loop kicks his way out of a competition
Tyler Loop answered the question in Indianapolis. The Baltimore Ravens released kicker Jake Moody from the practice squad on Tuesday, a day and a half after Loop drilled a career-long 57-yard field goal and added a 45-yarder in a 41-23 win at the Colts.
Baltimore had signed Moody on August 31, when Loop’s preseason read like a warning. He went 5-of-8 across three exhibition games, a 62.5 percent rate that sits well under what the position demands, and the team wanted an insurance policy on the roster fringe.
Moody arrived with pedigree. San Francisco spent a third-round pick on him, a rare investment for a kicker, and he handled the job for the 49ers before the club moved on. He never got a regular-season kick in Baltimore.
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The miss that hung over the summer
Loop’s preseason struggles landed harder because of what came before them. His 44-yard miss in the season finale ended Baltimore’s campaign eight months ago. Kickers rarely get to leave that in the past, and the Moody signing looked like the organisation quietly hedging.
Head coach Jesse Minter said Sunday that it never went that far on his end. “Obviously, you have to make kicks and things like that, and in the preseason, he had a couple of mishaps,” Minter said. “But just the work ethic and the trust in the process in so many different things that he’s been working on, I expected nothing less.”
The 57-yarder was the answer that mattered. It cleared with room, it came in a road win, and it removed the argument.
The spot goes to a receiver
Baltimore did not leave the practice squad slot open. Wide receiver Gage Larvadain takes it, and the timing tracks with an injury list that has thinned the position. Zay Flowers is dealing with a hamstring problem and Ja’Kobi Lane with a wrist injury.
Larvadain spent training camp with Cleveland before the Browns cut him on August 30. He brings seven career catches for 71 yards and, more usefully for a team short of healthy bodies, experience returning punts.
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