The Ravens cut longtime kicker and fan favorite Justin Tucker on Monday, more than three months after allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior against multiple Baltimore-area massage therapists surfaced. The cut came after two days of seeing their new rookie kicker at camp and with an NFL investigation into those allegations still pending.

Here’s what you need to know.

What the Ravens are saying

“Whatever we decide to do over the next few weeks will be based on football,” Ravens head coach John Harbaugh told reporters Sunday afternoon when asked about the prospect of having Tucker and his possible successor, rookie draft pick Tyler Loop, in the same building at the start of Baltimore’s offseason training activities later this month.

But just over 24 hours later, at 4:56 p.m. Monday, the team announced Tucker’s release in a statement from general manager Eric DeCosta.

“Sometimes football decisions are incredibly difficult, and this is one of those instances,” DeCosta said. “Considering our current roster, we have made the tough decision to release Justin Tucker.”

DeCosta praised Tucker’s “reliability, drive, resilience and extraordinary talent” and said he “created many significant and unforgettable moments in Ravens history.”

He did not mention the allegations against Tucker.

Ravens team president Sashi Brown said last month the team would wait to make a decision on Tucker until the NFL finished its investigation into him.

What Tucker is saying

So far, nothing. Tucker has not posted a reaction to social media, and Clare Locke and Williams & Connolly, law firms that Tucker hired earlier this year in the wake of The Banner’s reporting, have not responded to messages seeking comment. Neither has a public relations firm that has been representing Tucker.

Previously, Tucker has been adamant that the allegations against him were false. He later apologized, while maintaining he did nothing wrong, and said he “never intended to disrespect anyone”

“It devastates me to know that anyone I have worked with would not have felt respected and valued as a professional, but more importantly as a person, and to anyone who has felt otherwise, I am sorry,” he said.

The NFL investigation

The NFL launched an investigation following the Banner’s reporting, and that investigation remains ongoing, the league said Monday.

Sixteen massage therapists from eight spas and wellness centers, most of whom do not know each other, detailed similar experiences and told people close to them around the time the incidents occurred. The Banner reached out to those people to corroborate the women’s accounts.

The allegations against Tucker include claims that he repeatedly and intentionally exposed his erect genitals during massage sessions, brushed two therapists with his exposed penis and, in several cases, left what appeared to be ejaculate on the massage table. Two spas said they had banned him from returning, which Tucker has denied.

Several massage therapists and at least one spa owner have spoken with league investigators.

Michael Belsky and Catie Dickinson, attorneys representing many of the massage therapists who have accused Tucker of wrongdoing, said in a statement Monday “the continued lack of acknowledgement of these experiences [by Tucker and the Ravens] is profoundly disappointing.”

Who will kick for the Ravens?

The Ravens appear ready to move forward with former Arizona Wildcats kicker Loop, who they selected in the sixth round of the NFL Draft on April 26. It was the first time the Ravens had used a draft pick on a placekicker.

Harbaugh said Sunday he was impressed with Loop’s ability. The team could still choose to bring in another kicker for competition. The Athletic reported Monday that the Ravens are expected to sign former Wyoming kicker John Hoyland after rookie minicamp.

While it is unusual for a team to so quickly decide one of its rookies is prepared to take over a starting role, cutting a well-paid veteran in favor of a young player is common because it creates salary cap space. The Ravens, by designating Tucker a post-June 1 release, will gain just over $4 million under the cap.

What’s next for Tucker

Tucker had been practicing at the team facility in Owings Mills in recent weeks. He had a down year in 2023, registering a career-low 73% accuracy rate. He did not miss a field goal or extra point in his final six games, including the postseason. He’s 35 years old, an age where top kickers can still be effective.

But the possibility of a suspension by the NFL could affect a team’s willingness to give him a chance, and certainly an actual suspension would impede his ability to sign with a team that finds itself in need of a kicker during the season.

Off the field, while many of Tucker’s accusers have retained attorneys amid The Banner’s reporting, legal experts said the statute of limitations for criminal charges — if they even applied — had long passed, and that civil action against him similarly seemed unlikely.