Last week, the Kansas City Chiefs brought in former All-Pro kicker Justin Tucker to the practice squad after Harrison Butker’s shaky start to the season. Tucker impressed the Chiefs and special teams coordinator Dave Toub in his tryout, but will stay with the reserves for at least another week as the team continues to trust their guy.
When Pete Sweeney of The Kansas City Star asked about the placekicking situation before Wednesday’s practice, head coach Andy Reid said there would be no change.
“Harrison
will be in, yeah,” Reid confirmed.
The question comes after Butker missed a 54-yard field goal in the rainy fourth quarter of the close loss to the Denver Broncos; he made a 45-yard field goal and converted on all three of his point-after attempts. He is 12-for-18 on field goals this year, tied for the lowest rate in the NFL among qualified kickers currently on an active roster; former Los Angeles Rams kicker Harrison Mevis (56%) is the only one with a lower rate.
Butker has attempted the third-most 50-or-more-yard kicks in the league this year (7) but has made only two. Five of his six misses have come from long range, but he has also missed a 45-yard field goal and a point-after attempt through seven games.
On offense, Reid shared that there is also “a good chance” that starting left guard Kingsley Suamataia will be in after being benched (for an unclear reason) in the Week 8 loss to Denver. He played five snaps on special teams, a notable difference from his benching in Week 4 against the Las Vegas Raiders, another divisional road game.
Veteran backup Mike Caliendo filled in for Suamataia in both games. In his most recent game, Caliendo allowed five pressures — including a sack and two quarterback hits — over 68 snaps at left guard, according to Pro Football Focus. It was also a woeful performance against a Broncos defense that Kansas City ran all over in the season-opening matchup.
With a strong indication that Suamataia will be back in the lineup, it feels like the team knows he is the better player.
So why has a coach’s decision kept him off the field in two crucial games this season? It feels like we’ll never get that answer.
