The Kansas City Chiefs have the most one-score wins in the league this season. With the two-time defending champs playing in a close game nearly every week, a reliable kicker is even more important to Kansas City than most teams.
In Harrison Butker, the Chiefs have one of the NFL‘s most reliable kickers. For now, though, Kansas City is making do without its All-Pro candidate. Here are the latest updates on Butker and how the team is dealing with his absence.
What Is Harrison Butker’s Injury?
Butker was dealing with an apparent leg injury throughout the season. He had a curious follow-through that caused him to fall to the ground after many of his kicks.
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. Butker fulfilled that by sitting out the team’s most recent game vs. the Los Angeles Chargers, as he is eligible to return in the Chiefs’ next game in Week 15 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.
How Will Butker’s Absence Impact the Chiefs?
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.
However, Shrader suffered a right hamstring injury during a private workout on the Monday before the team’s Week 13 matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders. With the short turnaround for the Black Friday game, Shrader was declared out, and the Chiefs signed veteran kicker Matthew Wright.
Wright ended up kicking in each of the last two games as a result. The 28-year-old has kicked for five teams in his career, including the San Francisco 49ers for one game earlier this season. However, Wright dislocated his shoulder at the end of the Niners’ Week 6 game vs. the Seattle Seahawks, cutting his San Francisco stint short.
There aren’t any definitive updates on if Butker can return in the minimum amount of time, but the Chiefs will have 21 days to activate him to the 53-man roster once they open his practice window. That administrative task will need to be completed before he can formally return to play.