2 minSports
Chiefs keep Harrison Butker as kicker despite seven missed field goals
Kansas City will start Harrison Butker in Week 10 at Atlanta despite his league-leading seven misses this season, while Justin Tucker waits on the practice squad.
The Kansas City Chiefs will stick with Harrison Butker as their starting kicker for Week 10, when they play on the road at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium, despite a season in which he has missed more field goals than any player in the NFL. Butker has seven misses this year, the most in the league, and the most recent came in the Chiefs' Week 9 rout of the New York Jets.
The decision keeps the spotlight on a kicker whose struggles have drawn public frustration in Kansas City. Fans booed Butker at Arrowhead Stadium after the Week 9 misses. Since the start of last season, he has made 12 field goals and five extra points while missing 17 attempts, a sharp drop-off for a player long regarded as one of the most reliable in the game.
Head coach Andy Reid said he will « look at everything » this week before finalizing the kicking situation, leaving the door open to change even though Butker remains the starter for now. Hall of Fame kicker Adam Vinatieri has said that Butker's job is his to lose, a view that reflects the standing Butker still holds within the organization.
Waiting on the sideline is Justin Tucker, who has been signed to the Chiefs' practice squad. Tucker, 37, is one of the most accomplished kickers of his generation, but his path back to the field has been complicated by off-field issues. He served a 10-game NFL suspension for a personal conduct violation after sexual misconduct allegations from massage therapists in Baltimore, allegations Tucker denies. The alleged misconduct dates to 2012 through 2016, during his time with the Ravens.
The Ravens released Tucker in May 2025, and the NFL suspended him after that. He was reinstated in November and later tried out for the Saints before landing with Kansas City. It is not yet clear whether Tucker will get a chance to kick for the Chiefs before the playoffs, leaving his role uncertain as Kansas City weighs whether Butker can recover his accuracy during the stretch run.
Source: foxnews.com
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