Ravens reward kicker Tucker with 4-year extension
BALTIMORE — Justin Tucker made his new contract sound about as routine as one of his clutch kicks.
“I joked to (coach John Harbaugh) one day out at practice,” Tucker said. “We were just kind of just generally talking about the idea. I said, ‘I think something could get done in like five minutes.’ And sure enough, it took about five minutes.”
Tucker and the Baltimore Ravens agreed to a four-year extension worth $24 million. The agreement includes $17.5 million guaranteed for the star kicker, whose previous deal was through 2023.
The contract was part of a feel-good Monday for the Ravens, who also welcomed running back J.K. Dobbins back from the physically-unable-to-perform list.
A five-time All-Pro, Tucker has been a game-changer for the Ravens in his 10 years with the team. The University of Texas product has made a record 91.1 percent of his field goal attempt, including a 66yarder last year to beat Detroit.
Tucker is 16 of 16 on field goal attempts in the final minute of regulation and has converted 58 straight in the fourth quarter and overtime, the longest active streak in the league.
Rodgers didn’t violate drug policy in Peru
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ use of the hallucinogenic drink ayahuasca during an offseason retreat isn’t considered a violation of the NFL’s drug policy.
Rodgers discussed on “The Aubrey Marcus Podcast” last week how he went on an ayahuasca retreat to Peru in 2020. Ayahuasca is defined as a psychoactive beverage native to South America and is often used for religious, ritualistic or medicinal purposes.
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said that it wouldn’t have triggered a positive test result on either the substance abuse or performance-enhancing substance policies collectively bargained by the NFL and its players’ association.
Odds and ends
The Denver Broncos are expected to have new ownership in place Tuesday after a special meeting in Minneapolis to vote on the purchase of the team by the Walton-Penner group. The vote, considered a formality, will finalize the purchase of the Broncos for a world-record sports franchise price of $4.65 billion. The group led by Rob Walton, Greg Penner and Carrie Walton-Penner,
and including limited partners Mellody Hobson, Condoleezza Rice and Lewis Hamilton, will be the Broncos’ first new owners in 38 years. …
Detroit Lions rookie offensive tackle Zein Obeid has retired, the fourth player to end his career with the team in two months. Obeid, who played at Ferris State, was an undrafted rookie as were recent retirees Jermaine Waller, a defensive back from Virginia Tech, and Corey Sutton, a former Appalachian State receiver. Defensive tackle John Penisini retired in July after starting 12 games as a sixth-round pick in 2020 and playing in 16 games as a reserve last year.