We are 59 days away from the Kansas City Chiefs‘ season-opening game against the Denver Broncos on “Monday Night Football” in Week 1.
The No. 59 is worn by linebacker Cooper McDonald, who is entering his second season in the NFL after successfully earning a contract from the Chiefs at rookie minicamp tryouts last spring.
He’s on the ascent after an impressive rookie campaign, looking to be remembered as fondly as these memorable Chiefs players one day.
Some memorable No. 59s in franchise history
Gary Spani (1978 – 1986)
Donnie Edwards (1996 – 2001, 2007 – 2008)
Reggie Ragland (2017 – 2019)
Shawn Barber (2003 – 2005)
The linebacker position has seen many impactful
No. 59s in franchise history. The first three on the list had longer or more impactful stretches in Kansas City, but Barber cemented himself in Chiefs Kingdom after his 10-year career was finished. At one point, he served as President of the Chiefs Ambassadors.
Ragland won a Super Bowl as a physical, third linebacker in the Chiefs’ defense of 2019, but Spani and Edwards were pillars of the team despite not earning Pro Bowl status during their time . Spani spent all nine of his NFL seasons with the Chiefs, while Edwards’ lone Pro Bowl campaign happened in 2002, one season after leaving Kansas City for the San Diego Chargers in free agency.
59: The length of Harrison Butker’s longest field goal last season
The season-long field goal for Butker was a significant improvement on his long of 53 yards in an injury-impacted 2024 season. 59 yards is a middle-of-the-pack mark among NFL kickers nowadays, but it’s a good sign for Butker’s bounce-back that his long ball is live.
In a press conference during OTAs, special teams coordinator Dave Toub shared that Butker hit three 60-yard field goals over three consecutive two-minute drills.
If Butker finds consistency again, it will be easiest to evaluate by following his success rate on point-after attempts. That number is the most important statistic for Butker to improve from last year.
It’s not just the underrated impact of missing out on an extra point for a team that lives to play in one-score games; it’s also the confidence boost Butker could feel from sharpening the most straightforward aspect of his job description and avoiding any overanalysis of his approach or technique.
