Ravens Rookie’s Bold Promise to John Harbaugh After HC Clears Demand From Lamar Jackson’s Locker Room

Tyler Loop’s journey to the Ravens began with an unexpected moment, not on a field, but in a Tucson restaurant. When special teams coach Randy Brown asked to see his kicking form, the rookie calmly pushed a couple of tables aside and demonstrated it right there. Impressed, Brown texted John Harbaugh, saying he had found the one they had been searching for. It came just after the team changes Lamar Jackson had asked for.

“We kind of moved a couple tables away and I said, ‘All right, show me,’” Brown recalled. He texted Harbaugh immediately after: “I think we have our guy.” It was the kind of intentionality the Ravens have been searching for, on and off the field.

For Tyler Loop, the first taste of pressure wasn’t on a football field under the bright lights of a playoff game, but on a soccer sideline in Texas, with a Slurpee on the line. “Slur-pee, slur-pee, slur-pee,” a teammate’s father would chant from the stands, offering the frozen treat if young Loop could launch a goal kick past midfield. Loop would measure his run-up, plant his foot, and send the ball soaring. Over and over again, he did it. That same composure is what led him years later to sit across from Ravens senior special teams coach Randy Brown to demonstrate his kicking motion mid-meal.

Loop’s journey to Baltimore was anything but linear. A standout soccer player, he once had the chance to train in England with Liverpool’s youth academy. But after conversations with his parents and coach, he chose football. ‘It wasn’t the norm,’ he acknowledged, ‘for teenagers to drill 50-plus-yard field goals on a semi-consistent basis.’

In Arizona, he battled mental hurdles, working with sports psychologists to learn how to reset after a miss. He developed a meticulous 30-second routine from the moment he jogs onto the field to the kick itself, visualizing every detail. “It’s easy to get lost in the physical aspect,” Loop said. “But if you’re easily distracted, it’s hard to get back on track.”

The Ravens were drawn to Loop not just for his powerful leg, but for his steady, process-driven mindset. In preseason, he impressed by hitting 9 of 11 field goals, including five from beyond 50 yards, and even drilled a 61-yarder with ease. Still, head coach John Harbaugh knows that making kicks in August is very different from delivering under playoff pressure in January.

That’s why the team admits they won’t truly know how Loop handles high-stakes moments until he’s in one. It’s a wait-and-see situation, just like it once was with Justin Tucker, before he became one of the most clutch kickers in NFL history. This time, there’s more pressure. Lamar Jackson wanted the team to be more focused and disciplined, especially in tough moments. The Ravens made changes to match that mindset, and Tyler Loop fits right in.

Loop isn’t waiting for that moment to define him. He’s already lived it in his mind. “Fifty-eight yards for the win and all of the fun stuff,” he said. “You go through all of the scenarios in your head, and you get excited about them. Then, they come around and you’re like, ‘This is it. Let’s go do it.’”

Tyler Loop and his fiancee prayed for clarity before the draft, and he felt so sure Baltimore was the right fit that he bought a Ravens T-shirt to wear when his name was announced. That kind of belief doesn’t just define Loop, it mirrors the very shift happening inside the Ravens organization.

A new standard of discipline from Harbaugh

Inside the Ravens’ facility, a $20 million renovation, with two 110-inch screens, now dominates the walls, flashing real-time practice stats like EXPLOSION PLAYS, BLOCK DESTRUCTION, and BALL SECURITY. It’s a visual mantra for a team that has been on the brink of greatness but has not quite broken through.

“We haven’t accomplished what we want to accomplish,” Harbaugh told The Baltimore Sun. “We need to find a way to do it better. The word we came up with was intentionality. We need to be intentional about everything … at the highest possible level.”

Entering his 18th season, second in tenure only to Mike Tomlin, Harbaugh knows longevity in the NFL is rare. With a 172-104 regular-season record and 12 playoff appearances, his resume is stellar, but the recent postseason stings linger: a 13-11 playoff record and back-to-back soul-crushing losses.

Owner Steve Bisciotti made it clear when extending Harbaugh through 2028: “I want to win now. We’ve got a window with Lamar.” That window demanded change. After ranking 31st in pass defense, Harbaugh overhauled his staff, bringing in Chuck Pagano to stabilize the secondary and Tyler Santucci to coach linebackers. He harped on penalties: the Ravens had a league-high 140 last season and redesigned practices to emphasize pre-snap discipline.

And then there was the unexpected void at kicker following Justin Tucker’s departure amid serious off-field allegations. The Ravens used a sixth-round pick on Loop, the first kicker they’ve ever drafted. Now, as the team installs a new standard of intentionality as they buckle up against the Bills, Loop represents something more than a rookie kicker; he’s a symbol of renewal. The architecture of belief, built one Slurpee moment at a time.