KC Chiefs sign Matt Ammendola as Harrison Butker insurance

The Kansas City Chiefs have signed kicker Matt Ammendola as insurance in case Harrison Butker cannot go on Thursday night.

The Kansas City Chiefs were never going to go into another NFL game hanging onto one injured kicker and a do-it-safety who filled in admirably in Week 1. That’s the reason they worked out one potential substitute on Monday at Arrowhead and ended up signing another to the team’s practice squad.

According to NFL reporter Tom Pelissero, the Chiefs have added kicker Matt Ammendola to the practice squad ahead of their Week 2 game on a short week against the visiting Los Angeles Chargers. It’s an important divisional matchup slated to open the TNF series on Amazon and a primetime matchup of two of the best overall teams in football.

The Chiefs lost Butker to an ankle injury early in the first quarter in their win over the Arizona Cardinals in Week 1. Butker’s plant foot slipped while kicking off following the team’s opening touchdown in the 44-21 rout and was unable to kick for a spell. Safety Justin Reid, who had a lot of fun showing off his surprising kicking skills in the preseason, ended up kicking two extra point attempts (converting one) and then kicking off the rest of the game.

While Reid still serves as some emergency help, the truth is that the only responsible thing for the Chiefs to do all along was to make sure they had a steady kicker ready and waiting in case Butker is unable to go. To Butker’s credit, he returned while hobbling and landed a 54-yard field goal in the first half with only a single step approach to show just how accurate and powerful he remains as a kicker even when he’s injured.

Ammendola was a celebrated kicker at Oklahoma State who has earned short NFL opportunities with the Carolina Panthers, New York Jets, and Houston Texans since going undrafted in 2020.