Should the Baltimore Ravens bench Justin Tucker? That’s an enigma that needs some closure. Tucker missed five kicks in the last three games and has been under a lot of scrutiny after the Eagles handed them an L in their home! That sparks the debate of whether the Baltimore team should consider investing in a kicker this season or not.

Some say that his technique is the problem, others just think he’s tired. If the latter is the case, he should just chill out for a few days, go to the beach, each some crab cakes and get his mind right. What if he’s benched and bounces back to his usual veteran form? Benching has surely worked wonders for Anthony Richardson and Bryce Young. So why not Tucker?

That was the same discussion that Dan Patrick and the former Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett were having about the Baltimore kicker. Coach Harbaugh has shown his support to Tucker and has no desire to bench him. But that doesn’t mean he can’t shop around for talent, right? “How would you handle Justin Tucker if you were his head coach?” That’s the golden question that Jason Garrett had to answer.

“I would absolutely stick with him. I’m not opposed to bringing a guy in on the practice roster and having a guy kick as well. At the end of the day, all decisions are made in the best interest of the football team, and I don’t care how much success and history you have together. Justin Tucker understands that. He understands that he has to make kicks,” Garett told Dan Patrick.

The M&T Bank Stadium echoed with boos when Justin Tucker missed a field goal at the end of the third quarter. By that time, the veteran had missed two field goals and a PAT, leaving 7 points on the board. The result of the Ravens‘ 24-19 loss could have been drastically different if Tucker had converted all those points.

The kicker didn’t want to dwell on negativity and made an honest admission after the game. “As simply as I can put it, I missed the kicks. And I’ll leave it at that,” Tucker told reporters after the game. “I just left the points out there. Feel like I cost us this one. But it doesn’t really do anybody any good to dwell on it.”

This is the 13 season that the 35-year-old player has spent with the team and is at the lowest point of his career. He’s made only 70% of his kicks this season, however, there are still five more games to go. Moreover, it’s astonishing to see a veteran like Tucker miss a 50. He’s 5 of 8 on FGs ranging between 40-49 yards. The record slightly worsens with 4 of 9 kicks made on 50+ yards.

What could be the reason for this performance? Coach Belichick thinks it’s a technique issue, but former Giants kicker, Lawrence Tynes, sees the situation differently.

Does Justin Tucker have a skill issue?

Tynes, who’s won two Super Bowls, thinks that Tucker has a “mechanical flaw” that he couldn’t fix in time for the game. Tynes’ assessment aligns with Bill Belichick, who said, “I think there’s something mechanically that he’s not doing consistently,” on the Let’s Go! Podcast. So how can one of the greatest, most accurate kicker in the history of the sport face such roadblocks?

Tynes had a plausible explanation about Tucker’s inaccurate performance. “He is struggling mentally, that’s the bottom line,” said the former Giants kicker. Has it ever happened to you that you completely forget to do things that are basically a muscle memory to you? That might be one of Tucker’s issues.

Also, kicking is a very precise task and if something goes wrong during the snap, the kicker can miss. But in these trying times, at least he has the support of his head coach. “[Tucker is] definitely capable of making every kick… Nobody wants to make those kicks more than Justin,” Harbaugh said. “If you’re asking me, are we going to move on from Justin Tucker? I’m not really planning on doing that right now.”

Now that that’s settled, Baltimore should really consider signing someone to their practice squad. Not because there’s anything wrong with Tucker, but he’s 36 and it’s hard to maintain the same-old-you at that age. What do you think about Tucker’s conundrum? Let’s start a debate.