Harrison Butker sent a powerful message to his Super Bowl rival Christian McCaffrey after the running back’s season came to an end. The Kansas City Chiefs kicker showed the powerful fraternity in the NFL with his message.
The San Francisco 49ers RB has had a turbulent season that has now ended in heartbreak. Butker is also nursing an injury that has kept him out of games.
Harrison Butker Sends a Message to Christian McCaffrey
CMC dealt with a calf and Achilles injury in the preseason that kept him out the first nine weeks of action. After returning in the Week 10 game, the RB managed to play three more games and injured his ligament in the right knee.
The three-time Pro Bowler posted a lengthy message on his Instagram account to announce that his season had ended due to this injury.
“I’m grateful for the support of everyone in my corner and promise I’ll work smarter and harder than ever to come back better from this. I love my teammates, I love the 9ers, and I love football. God doesn’t miss. Onward,” CMC wrote at the end of his caption.
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The highest-paid kicker in the league did not hold back as he commented, “God’s Will be done,” echoing the sentiments shared by McCaffrey.
What Is Harrison Butker’s Injury?
Butker was seemingly dealing with some type of leg injury throughout the season. He had a curious follow through that caused him to fall to the ground after many of his kicks, unless that was a new technique — or maybe the two were not mutually exclusive.
Eventually, Butker and the Chiefs decided to address the injury with a medical procedure. His last game was Week 10 vs. the Denver Broncos, after which he 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 short-term injured reserve. And given how much stress Butker was putting on his plant leg, it’s no surprise he needs multiple weeks to return to full strength.
When Will Butker Return From Injury?
Recovery timelines can vary from athlete to athlete, even when dealing with the same injury type and surgery to fix it. In Butker’s case, the timeline could be relatively short, so it’s expected the Chiefs will have their regular kicker back in time for the stretch run and the postseason.
In the meantime, Butker’s 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.
Upon his return, close attention will be paid to Butker’s performance. This season, Butker was 18/20 on field goals (90%), including a perfect 16/16 below 50 yards. With Justin Tucker’s recent struggles, Butker’s career field goal percentage of 89.2% is the highest in NFL history.