Tyler Loop

Ravens Signing RB D’Ernest Johnson, Waiving K John Hoyland

August 2nd, 2025 at 4:17pm CST by Ely Allen

It’s been a busy day of transactions in Baltimore, and while the names aren’t huge, the implications could be. The most impactful transactions of the day see the team bringing in veteran running back D’Ernest Johnson (per ESPN’s Adam Schefter) and waiving undrafted rookie kicker John Hoyland (per Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports).

According to Jamison Hensley of ESPN, Johnson is joining the Ravens as a depth piece in Baltimore’s camp. In a room that contains Derrick Henry, Justice Hill, Keaton Mitchell, Rasheen Ali, and undrafted rookie Marcus Major, the Ravens have plenty of bodies, but Henry and Hill are not expected to play in the preseason and Major is currently dealing with a concussion. With preseason games starting this week, Johnson stands to get plenty of opportunities alongside Mitchell and Ali.

It’s been a while since Johnson held a significant role on an offense. After going undrafted out of USF in 2018, Johnson opted to play in the Alliance of American Football league in 2019. When the league came to an end, Johnson signed with the Browns and made the 53-man roster as RB3 behind Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. An injury to Hunt in 2021, allowed for Johnson to step into the RB2 role, in which he rushed for 534 yards and three touchdowns. In the three years since, Johnson has held minor roles in Cleveland and Jacksonville.

Hoyland’s waiving is significant due to the fact that he’s been in a two-man kicking competition with fellow rookie Tyler Loop for the honor of succeeding Justin Tucker as the team’s primary kicker. Loop was struggling early as he made changes to his technique and kicking motions at the request 0f Baltimore special teams coach Randy Brown. For a while, Hoyland was being tabbed as a likely candidate to be one of the undrafted rookies to make a 53-man roster that the Ravens are so notorious for.

Hoyland’s departure seems to indicate that Loop will open the season as the Ravens’ new kicker. Per Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic, head coach John Harbaugh claimed that cutting the undrafted rookie “was more about having roster needs elsewhere.” According to Harbaugh, “Loop is kicking well enough to win the job, but it’s going to be about the games.”

Elsewhere on the roster, the Ravens are adding tight ends Baylor Cupp (per Zenitz) and Scotty Washington (per Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2) in the wake of the injury to Isaiah Likely. Joining Hoyland on the waiver wire will be fellow undrafted rookie Sam Pitz, a tight end out of Minnesota-Duluth.

Ravens Rookie K Tyler Loop Facing Undrafted Competition

June 29th, 2025 at 7:53pm CST by Ely Allen

On the third day of this year’s draft, the Ravens drafted a kicker for the first time in their 30-year history, taking Arizona’s Tyler Loop with the 186th pick. Despite getting undercut by the Patriots, who took the first kicker of the draft four picks earlier, the Ravens insisted that Loop was always their intended target. According to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic, though, Loop’s path to the 53-man roster will not be unchallenged.

At the conclusion of the Ravens’ Organized Team Activities and mandatory minicamp, Zrebiec listed a number of players whose stock went up or down. Loop was included as a player whose stock was trending down. While, at times, Loop showed his big leg with some long conversions, there were multiple reports of days in which he struggled with both consistency and accuracy from distance.

Per Zrebiec, Loop is making some changes to his technique and kicking motions at the behest of the team’s senior special teams coach, Randy Brown. While that may be contributing to his early issues, it’s concerning to see the drafted kicker struggle. One could also account it to the pressure of replacing the most accurate kicker in NFL history, but playing for a perennial playoff contender, pressure is something Loop is going to have to deal with.

There’s added pressure on Loop from some competition that the Ravens brought in shortly after the draft. One of the team’s undrafted free agents this year was Wyoming kicker John Hoyland. Neither kicker was very accurate during their collegiate years. Loop started strong, going 30 for 33 in his first two years for the Wildcats, but he missed 10 of 47 field goal attempts in his final two years. Hoyland had two excellent, separate years going a combined 35 of 39 in the 2020 and 2022 seasons. The other three years told a very different story as he missed 15 of 53 attempts.

In the offseason, both players have had good days and bad days, but reports seem to indicate that Hoyland has done enough to put himself in a legitimate kicking competition with the player on whom Baltimore used a draft pick. The Ravens are notorious for finding diamonds in the undrafted rough, having fielded undrafted rookies on their Week 1 roster in 20 of the past 21 seasons. Of this year’s undrafted crop, Zrebiec gives Hoyland the best chance of making the roster via his kicking competition with Loop.

91 percent of the made field goals in Ravens history have come off the leg of either Matt Stover (only drafted because drafts were 12 rounds in 1990) and Justin Tucker (undrafted). Despite the team finally using a draft pick on a kicker, there’s a chance they may turn to an undrafted leg yet again.

Ravens Sign 9 Of 11 2025 Draft Picks

May 3rd, 2025 at 1:01pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Ravens have officially signed nine of their league-high 11 selections in the 2025 NFL Draft, per a team announcement.

Today’s signings include third-rounder Emery Jones, fourth-rounder Teddye Buchanan, fifth-rounder Carson Vinson, and seventh-rounder Garrett Dellinger. The team also signed all five of their sixth-round picks: Bilhal Kone, Tyler Loop, LaJohntay Wester, Aeneas Peebles, and Robert Longerbeam.

As prescribed by the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement, all nine players have four years on their first contracts. With escalating cap hits for key players in the next few years, the Ravens are hoping that several members of their rookie class can play significant roles in the team’s future.

Jones and Dellinger both started for LSU’s stellar offensive line across the last three years at right tackle and left guard, respectively. Jones’ best fit might be at guard, where he could compete for a starting job as a rookie. He’ll also provide valuable depth behind Roger Rosengarten at right tackle, though he’ll have to make significant strides to have a chance at replacing Ronnie Stanley on the blindside at the end of his rookie deal. Dellinger will be fighting for a roster spot before he gets a shot at a starting job, but he brings a high-floor as a backup guard, the likes of which the Ravens have consistently turned into starters in recent years.

The Ravens prized Buchanan’s athleticism and intangibles enough to prioritize him on Day 3, but predictions of him supplanting Trenton Simpson in the starting lineup may be premature. After just one year at the FBS level, Buchanan face another, more significant jump to the speed of the NFL, which is especially significant at the linebacker position. He’ll likely be a core special teams contributor as a rookie, but his passing down abilities in coverage and as a blitzer will give him a strong chance at long-term playing time.

Baltimore double-dipped on Day 3 cornerbacks when they had 11 picks in 2022, taking a boundary corner in Jalyn Armour-Davis and a prospective nickel in Damarion Williams. They did so again this year with the long, speedy Kone and a likely slot-convert in Longerbeam. The Ravens have plenty of defensive back depth after signing Chidobie Awuzie and drafting Starks, so their Day 3 DBs will likely begin on special teams as they acclimate to their new defense and train to battle for starting roles in the future.

General manager Eric DeCosta values all of his draft picks, so using one on Loop is a clear sign that the team is seriously considering replacing Justin Tucker this year. Loop was widely considered the most powerful kicker in the draft, but he made less than 80% of his field goal attempts in his last two years at Arizona. He’ll need to quickly take to the tutelage of special teams coach Randy Brown to win a roster spot.

Head coach John Harbaugh said before the draft that the team wanted to add a punt returner, and they found one in Wester. He returned 66 punts for 740 yards (11.2 yards per return) in college and could take over a similar role right away in Baltimore. The Colorado product will be blocked on the offensive depth chart at first, but he was very productive in college and could develop into a rotational contributor out of the slot.

The Ravens surprised many by waiting until the end of Day 3 to address the interior of their defensive line after the retirement of Michael Pierce this offseason. Peebles is too undersized to fill Pierce’s role as a behemoth, space-eating nose tackle, but his pass-rushing chops could help him carve out a situational role as a rookie. While he may never be big enough to anchor the defensive line against the run, his athleticism and active hands give him three-down potential in the long-term.

The Ravens still have to sign their first two picks – first-round safety Malaki Starks and second-round edge rusher Mike Green. Starks’ fully-guaranteed contract should be a formality, but Green may wait for players drafted ahead of him to sign to ensure he gets a commensurate guarantee structure.

Here is a full list of Baltimore’s 2025 draft class:

Round 1, No. 27: Malaki Starks (S, Georgia)
Round 2, No. 59: Mike Green (OLB, Marshall)
Round 3, No. 91: Emery Jones (T, LSU) (signed)
Round 4, No. 129: Teddye Buchanan (LB, Cal) (signed)
Round 5, No. 141* (from Titans): Carson Vinson (T, Alabama A&M) (signed)
Round 6, No. 178 (from Titans): Bilhal Kone (CB, Western Michigan) (signed)
Round 6, No. 186 (from Jets): Tyler Loop (K, Arizona) (signed)
Round 6, No. 203: LaJohntay Wester (WR, Colorado) (signed)
Round 6, No. 210*: Aeneas Peebles (DT, Virginia Tech) (signed)
Round 6, No. 212*: Robert Longerbeam (CB, Rutgers) (signed)
Round 7, No. 243: Garrett Dellinger (G, LSU) (signed)