Ravens Kicker Tyler Loop's Job Hangs in Doubt as John Harbaugh's Giants Sit on a Spare Kicker

Another Miss, Another Round of Boos

Tyler Loop missed a 58-yard field goal wide left in the first quarter of Baltimore's preseason finale against Washington on Friday. He missed another one wide left from 51 yards to close the first half. The Ravens still won 41-3, but the home crowd at M&T Bank Stadium booed him anyway, according to NBC Sports.

Loop made a 51-yarder and a 24-yarder later in the game, finishing 2-of-4 on field goals in the finale and 5-of-8 for the entire preseason, according to the Ravens' own team site. ESPN's Jamison Hensley, cited by NBC Sports, tracked Loop's preseason misses at 49, 51 and 58 yards.

This is the same Tyler Loop who missed a 44-yard field goal on the final play of the 2025 regular season against Pittsburgh, a miss that handed the AFC North to the Steelers and knocked the Ravens out of the playoffs, according to NBC Sports. John Harbaugh, Baltimore's head coach for 18 years, was fired not long after.

Minter's Tone Shifts

New head coach Jesse Minter inherited Loop and defended him publicly through most of the summer. That changed Friday night.

"You want to see makes in games," Minter told reporters after the win, in comments carried by NBC Sports, the New York Post and Sports Illustrated. "So it's something we'll continue to look at. We'll continue to look at what the best situation is there. He has had a good camp overall, but again, it comes down to making the kicks and the pressure situations in the game."

Minter went further in remarks reported by NBC Sports, saying there are "a million scenarios" the Ravens could pursue "to try to make sure that we have the best situation headed into Indy," Baltimore's regular-season opener at the Indianapolis Colts roughly two weeks away. Sports Illustrated's account of the same press conference said Minter's tone marked the first time all summer he sounded genuinely open to bringing in competition.

Loop isn't panicking. He told the Ravens' team site he simply didn't strike the ball the way he had in practice.

"I did not put it on the line it needed to be on," Loop said. "I know the expectation is to make kicks. I have to carry over the ball striking from pregame, in practice, and it's got to happen every time. That's the goal."

Asked how he'd react if Baltimore brought in a veteran to challenge him, Loop said it "doesn't change anything for me. I'm confident in my ball striking." Loop wasn't a disaster as a rookie. He made 30 of 34 field goals and 44 of 46 extra points in 2025, according to NBC Sports. One kick has overshadowed an otherwise solid season. The Ravens took over the job from longtime All-Pro Justin Tucker after Tucker was suspended under the NFL's personal conduct policy and, per NBC Sports, has not landed with another team since.

The Harbaugh Connection

Two hundred miles north, Harbaugh has his own kicker situation settled, and it might be relevant to Baltimore's.

Harbaugh named undrafted rookie Dominic Zvada the Giants' starting kicker Friday after Zvada went 3-for-3 on field goals from 23, 46 and 53 yards, plus two extra points in a 23-6 win over the Jets, according to the Giants' team site and ClutchPoints. Zvada finished the preseason perfect: 5-for-5 on field goals, 4-for-4 on extra points.

That left Ben Sauls, who made all eight of his field-goal attempts and all seven extra points for the Giants in 2025, without a starting job in New York, but not without an endorsement from his own coach.

"I would say Ben also won a job," Harbaugh said, per the Giants' team site. "He should be kicking in the National Football League based on the fact that if we didn't have Dominic, then Ben would have been the guy. So, I thought he had a great camp as well."

As of Saturday, the Giants had not cut Sauls. The New York Post floated the idea that New York could try to trade him for a draft pick or a backup defensive lineman rather than simply release him before Sunday's 6 p.m. ET deadline to trim rosters from 91 players to 53. The Post noted the two teams already made one trade this weekend. Earlier Saturday, the Giants sent a 2028 seventh-round pick to Baltimore for defensive lineman C.J. Okoye, a move also reported by ClutchPoints.

No second trade has been reported by any outlet, and nothing ties Sauls specifically to the Ravens beyond the Post's own speculation. NBC Sports, Sports Illustrated and SteelerNation all frame Baltimore's options as an open question about bringing in a veteran kicker generally, without naming Sauls.

What Happens Next

No outlet has confirmed the Ravens scheduling a kicker workout, and Loop remains the only kicker on Baltimore's roster. Whatever Minter decides has to happen fast. Rosters must be cut to 53 by 6 p.m. ET Sunday, and the Ravens open the regular season at Indianapolis in two weeks. If Baltimore stands pat, Loop keeps working toward that opener. If it doesn't, the franchise that fired Harbaugh over a missed kick could end up calling him for a solution.