Kicking Controversy Continues With Another Miss From Butker

The Kansas City Chiefs decided to give long-time kicker Harrison Butker another chance after some key misses, but the result they got was nearly more the same. 

Butker’s latest miss occurred just before halftime when the Chiefs’ win over hte New York Jets was still a close game. The miss came from 51 yards out as the ball sailed wide right. The kicker made all five of his extra points, but that was small consolation given the severity of the problem going into this game. 

The kicker was booed by fans, but he didn’t slam them, saying “I’m booing myself sometimes,” per a report from Nate Taylor of ESPN. He knows fans are passionate and want to win games, then added “I’ve got to be better.”

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes suppoted the kicker, stating “we have confidence in him,” but that confidence has to be at least somewhat shaky beyond Mahomes among Butker’s other teammates. 

But the confidence of coach Andy Reid and the organization as a whole may be another matter entirely. The Chiefs signed veteran kicker Justin Tucker to their practice squad, even though Tucker hasn’t played in the NFL since 2024. 

There are questions behind this strategy, with some wondering what was the idea behind signing Tucker if the Chiefs weren’t willing to use him. Tucker served a ten-game susension last season for violating the league’s Personal Conduct Policy after he was accused of sexual misconduct from massage therapists for eight high-end spas and wellness centers in the Baltimore area during his lengthy stint with the Baltimore Ravens. 

Tucker was subsequently released by the Ravens when he began missing kicks as well, and Butker seems to be becoming less reliable by the week.

Reid was non-committal about the situation, stating that he would “look at everything,” then noting that he wasn’t making any deicsions right away. The coach said he would address it during the week, whcih will be the next flash point for this situation. 

Special teams coach Dave Toub is still strongly committed to Butker, however, as he said the goal is to “improve” him and get the kicker right. “That’s what this whole thing is about.”

The Chiefs had the luxury of playing the Jets this week, so they were able to pull away in the second half and win the game easily. That won’t be the case going forward, and sooner or later it will cost Kansas City again based on what we saw against the Jets.