ExtremeRavens Posted January 31 Posted January 31 Ravens kicker Justin Tucker said Monday he’s “willing to let it all go” when it comes to the dustup with Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes before Sunday’s AFC championship game, but the Kansas City Chiefs stars apparently are not. Speaking Wednesday on his “New Heights” podcast, Kelce said Tucker violated an “unwritten rule” and “poked the bear” by stretching and placing his equipment where Mahomes decided to warm up in the end zone at M&T Bank Stadium. Kelce reacted by tossing Tucker’s helmet, footballs and kicking tee aside, which was caught on video and shared widely on social media. “If you want to be a [expletive] about it, you keep your helmet and your football and your [expletive] kicking tee right where the quarterbacks are warming up . … If you’re not going to pick that up, I’ll happily move that for you,” Kelce said on the podcast, which he hosts weekly with his brother and Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce. Tucker said Monday, after the Ravens’ 17-10 loss, that he’s done the same thing during his 12-year career and “never really had a problem with anybody.” Several users on X, formerly Twitter, also shared photos of Tucker warming up in the same spot in the opposing team’s end zone before several games during his decorated 12-year career, in which he’s become the most accurate kicker in NFL history. However, Mahomes, the star quarterback and two-time league Most Valuable Player, also took issue with Tucker, who he thought was trying “to get under our skin.” “I’ve had seven years of doing that same warmup routine, and there’s only been like three occasions where there’s been a kicker that wasn’t … moving out of the way,” Mahomes told a Kansas City radio station Tuesday. “It was in Baltimore all three times.” Tucker said he “just thought it was all just some gamesmanship, all in good fun, but they seem to be taking it a little bit more seriously and I’m totally willing to let it all go.” Jason Kelce, a seven-time Pro Bowl selection and Super Bowl champion, agreed with his brother, saying Tucker is “a legendary kicker and he knows how to poke the buttons.” “He does this. And there’s other kickers that will do it, too, other punters. You know, it’s definitely unwritten that you stay out of the way of the other team when they’re trying to utilize the field. You find a way to work on the other side of the field when it makes sense. That’s part of the game within the game. You can tell he’s playing it in these clips, you can see his facial expressions — he knows what he’s doing.” Travis Kelce said Tucker was “poking the bear” and making the star tight end — and boyfriend of pop star Taylor Swift — look like the “bad guy.” “I mean, he was kind of winking at me, being a [expletive] about it, trying to get under the skin. I get it. But me and Pat? We’ve been having the same mentality for this game all week long, man. And it was a — you’ve got to go in there and have the right mindframe, right mindset, and we just weren’t in a joking mood. We were ready to get after it. “So, Justin, sorry if we took it to a level that you didn’t think it’d get to that way, but if you’re going to be a [expletive], I promise you I can one-up you every time, dude.” He did on Sunday, at least, as Kelce caught 11 passes for 116 yards and a touchdown as the Chiefs advanced to their fourth Super Bowl in the past five seasons. They’ll meet the San Francisco 49ers on Feb. 11 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. @baltimoresun We asked some @Baltimore Ravens players if they knew any @Taylor Swift songs. Here’s what they said. Produced by our @karartwork. #baltimoreravens #baltimore #swiftie or not. ♬ original sound – Baltimore Sun View the full article Quote
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