The Kansas City Chiefs might be on the brink of making a change at kicker, potentially replacing their longtime player Harrison Butker. Just a few days following Butker’s two missed field goals in a disappointing 20-3 defeat to the Seattle Seahawks, reports from the Kansas City Star indicate that the Chiefs have signed kicker Justin Tucker to their practice squad.
Tucker has not participated in an NFL game since the 2024 season. He was let go by the Baltimore Ravens before the start of the 2025 NFL season after facing allegations of sexual misconduct from several massage therapists.
In the time since his departure, Tucker has had opportunities to try out with various NFL teams but has remained unsigned up until now.
Prior to his release, Tucker was regarded as one of the elite kickers in the league. Between 2013 and 2023, he earned a spot on the All-Pro first team five times and was selected for the Pro Bowl seven times.
However, his performance began to decline during his last season with the Ravens. That year, Tucker achieved a career-low conversion rate of 73.3% on field-goal attempts, with several missed attempts coming from longer ranges. Nevertheless, it appeared that the Ravens intended to retain Tucker for the 2025 season until the allegations against him emerged.
Ultimately, Tucker was given a 10-game suspension by the NFL before the commencement of the 2025 season. Although he was not actively with a team, the NFL counted the initial 10 weeks of the regular season towards his suspension. Consequently, he would be eligible to kick right away if the Chiefs choose to move him up to their active roster.
Up until 2026, Butker had been a dependable performer on the field. The 31-year-old was emerging from a span of nine years where he successfully completed at least 84% of his field-goal attempts each season.
However, Butker has been struggling with uncharacteristic misses at the start of 2026. Alongside the two missed attempts against the Seahawks, he has also failed on three other field-goal tries this season, with most of these misses occurring from distances greater than 50 yards, as he has converted only 2 out of 6 attempts in that range this year.
