Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker responded to the heated exchange between him and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce. The three players had a moment go viral before the AFC Championship Game.
Per Taylor Hartman with GH, Mahomes and Kelce threw Tucker’s kicking equipment while the kicker was warming up:
In the warmups before the game, Mahomes and Kelce were practicing their throws and catches, and Tucker was right in the middle of their warmup stretching just feet away from where Mahomes was throwing. Kelce and Mahomes did not appreciate this and took matters into their own hands, throwing Tucker’s footballs and helmet to the side and telling him to move out of the way, which the kicker did not appreciate.
In the video, the star tight end took Tucker’s stuff and threw it to the side, t,o try and make him move out of the way of their warmups. However, Tucker did not move and continued to stretch in the way of Mahomes, causing the two to get annoyed with the kicker…
Mahomes kicked the tee out of the way while Tucker began to stretch, which he seemed to not appreciate, which led to the two exchanging words with each other. While no one knows what was said, it is assumed that the two were not happy with each other’s actions and seemed to be trying to get into each other’s heads before kickoff.
On Monday, Tucker called the incident “kind of silly” and said it was a first for him in his career.
“I’ve been doing the exact same thing for 12 years, never really had a problem with anybody,” Tucker said, via Jerry Coleman of 100.7 The Bay. “That’s just kinda the way we’ve always done it, the way kickers around the league have always done it.
I saw Patrick there trying to warm up and get some drop backs. He asked me while I was on the ground stretching if I could move my helmet. I happily got up and I moved my helmet out of the way — at least I thought it was enough out of the way.
Mahomes and Kelce could have handled the situation better. Tucker is a respected veteran and would have tried to come to a fair solution with the Chiefs. Mahomes and Kelce’s actions Sunday will keep the narrative alive that they are whiny.
