Harrison Butker wins AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for October
By Matt Conner
Harrison Butker is starting to put together a nice string of awards and accolades since joining the Kansas City Chiefs in recent weeks.
Ever since he first joined the Kansas City Chiefs, rookie kicker Harrison Butker has shown more than just a veteran-level savvy. He’s shown an elite-level ability to make any and all kicks that Andy Reid, the Chiefs head coach, has asked him to make. Other than missing his first ever NFL field goal attempt, Butker has made his last 18 consecutive attempts, nearing a Chiefs team record and earning him the AFC’s Special Teams Player of the Month for October.
The Chiefs first signed Harrison Butker away from the practice squad of the Carolina Panthers when they lost Cairo Santos for an indefinite amount of time with a groin injury. Santos had reaggravated an injury that kept him out a few weeks in the preseason, so the Chiefs placed him on injured reserve. They later released him after signing Butker and the decision looks right despite the fact that Santos never did anything wrong (in fact, he’d been perfect in limited duty after a very accurate year last year as well).
Butker had five field goal makes on Sunday to help the Chiefs defeat the Denver Broncos at home in an important win at midseason, one that puts the Chiefs up 2.5 games over everyone else in the division at the halfway point. Butker has also made field goals from all over the place, including both attempts from beyond the 50-yard line.
Butker already has 18 makes and the Chiefs rookie record for field goals in a season is 25, a record held by Ryan Succop and Santos both.