OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- Baltimore Ravens coach Jesse Minter backed Tyler Loop as his kicker Monday even after adding competition for his job.
Baltimore signed Jake Moody to the practice squad three days after Loop missed two kicks in the preseason finale and heard boos from the M&T Bank Stadium crowd. Loop, who finished 5-of-8 (62.5%) in the preseason, is looking to rebound from missing a 44-yard, last-second attempt that abruptly ended Baltimore's season eight months ago.
"I have a lot of confidence in Tyler still," Minter said after Monday's practice. "He's had a great training camp. I expect him to be our kicker going into [the Sept. 13 season opener in] Indianapolis."
Minter added, "But you're always trying to just have every scenario covered. And so that's what we're trying to do as a team."
The Ravens showed their confidence in Loop this offseason by not bringing in another kicker throughout spring workouts and training camp. Loop missed only a handful of kicks over 20 practices this summer.
But Loop had an uneven preseason, missing kicks from 49, 51 and 58 yards and leading to speculation about his job security.
Moody, 26, joins the Ravens' practice squad about two weeks after being released by the Washington Commanders. He lost the kicking battle with undrafted rookie Drew Stevens after struggling in training camp, where he missed 4 of 6 kicks during one practice.
A third-round pick by the San Francisco 49ers in 2023 -- the highest drafted kicker over the past decade -- Moody has converted 64 of 82 career field goals for the 49ers, Chicago Bears and Commanders. His success rate of 78% ranks 31st among kickers with at least 50 field goal attempts since 2023.
Last season, Moody was cut by San Francisco after he missed two of three field goal tries in the opener. He then made 18 of 20 field goal attempts (90%) for the Bears and Commanders.
There is a connection between Moody and Minter. Moody's final season at the University of Michigan was 2022, when Minter was the defensive coordinator there.
"Jake's just kind of been on the radar," Minter said. "He's a guy that's had success in this league and really just felt like adding a guy. It's whatever's best for the team at that particular moment. So we added a guy to compete on the practice squad and see how it shakes out from there."
In other news, Minter said he expects Pro Bowl defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike to play early this season. Madubuike missed the final 15 weeks of last season because of a neck injury, which required surgery in April.
The Ravens decided not to place Madubuike on injured reserve Saturday because that would have forced him to miss the first four games of the regular season.
"I don't see him, obviously, missing that many games," Minter said.