The Kansas City Chiefs are on their third kicker in the last month as they enter their Week 13 Black Friday game versus the Las Vegas Raiders.
We recap what’s happened to the last two Chiefs kickers and what to expect from their new kicker, Matthew Wright.
What Happened to Harrison Butker?
Harrison Butker appears to have been struggling with a leg injury for most, if not all, of the season. He was seen falling to the ground after many of his kicks this season, and some speculated that it was either a new technique or potentially a result of the injury — or maybe the two were not mutually exclusive.
Eventually, Butker and the Chiefs decided to address the injury with a medical procedure.
Butker underwent a procedure to trim the meniscus in his left knee. While it’s good that the injury is in his non-kicking leg, the procedure and subsequent recovery are such that Kansas City was forced to place Butker on injured reserve.
His placement on the short-term injured reserve means he must miss at least four games. That puts Butker on the sidelines through the Chiefs’ Week 14 game, with a return possible for a Week 15 contest at the Cleveland Browns.
What Happened to Spencer Shrader?
Needing a replacement for Butker, the Chiefs turned to the New York Jets’ practice squad and signed 25-year-old undrafted rookie free agent Spencer Shrader. In two games with Kansas City, Shrader was perfect, connecting on six point-after-touchdown attempts and three field goals. That includes the 31-yard game-winner in Week 12 versus the Carolina Panthers.
Although Shrader is in his first NFL season, he’s now been on three rosters.
Shrader was initially signed to the Indianapolis Colts’ practice squad ahead of Week 1 to fill in for an injured Matt Gay. Once Gay returned in Week 2, Shrader went back to the practice squad, where he remained until the Colts cut him ahead of Week 5.
Then when Jets kicker Greg Zuerlein went down with an injury, New York signed Shrader to replace him. Shrader made his debut in Week 10, converting both of his field goals.
However, Shrader injured his hamstring in Monday’s workout heading into Week 13 and was not able to practice leading up to their Friday game against the Raiders. On a short week, that required the Chiefs to turn to their third kicker in four games.
Who Is Matthew Wright?
Wright is a fifth-year kicker who has previously kicked for the Pittsburgh Steelers (2020, ’22), Jacksonville Jaguars (2021), Chiefs (2022), Carolina Panthers (2023), and San Francisco 49ers (2024).
For his career, Wright has converted 43 of 50 field goals (86%), with a long of 59 yards in 2022 as a member of the Chiefs. He’s also 38-of-40 (95%) on extra points. His most notable moment came at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as a member of the Jaguars in 2021, when he kicked a game-winning 53-yard field goal as time expired to defeat the Miami Dolphins.
His 49ers stint this season lasted only one game. Wright was signed in Week 6 after Jake Moody suffered a high-ankle sprain. He had a perfect debut, hitting all three of his field goal attempts and all three of his point-after attempts in a Thursday night win over the Seattle Seahawks.
However, Wright himself suffered an injury at the end of that game, dislocating his shoulder while attempting to make a tackle. Although it was thought that he might be able to continue kicking at first, he was placed on injured reserve later in the week and waived a month later.
On the Tuesday before Week 13, the Chiefs signed Wright to their practice squad as a free agent to sub in for Shrader, giving him another shot this season. While Shrader has not been placed on injured reserve, Wright could get another game in Week 14 before Butker is eligible to be activated off of the injured reserve.