Five Chiefs who shouldn’t be back in 2023
By Jacob Milham
Kicker Harrison Butker
Kicker Harrison Butker has been a polarizing, but productive, player in Kansas City. However, his 2022 performance should have the Chiefs seriously considering other options heading into 2023.
Butker’s 2022 campaign got off to a slippery start, with a Week 1 injury against the Arizona Cardinals. Head coach Andy Reid called out the Cardinals’ suspect field conditions, which also contributed to cornerback Trent McDuffie’s injury. But, after the injury, Butker turned in his worst season in the NFL. PFF graded Butker as the league’s 35th-best kicker, due to his 75% field-goal percentage and 92.7% extra-point conversion. Much like Toub, fans were just not confident in Butker anymore. Coach Reid expressed his confidence in the veteran, however.
"“Being a kicker is a little bit like being a batter (in baseball); sometimes you get into a slump,” Reid said. “But he’s a great one. He’ll get through it. He’ll come out of it even better than he was. But you’ve got to keep kicking. That’s what we’re going to do with him.”"
Butker has been excellent in the postseason, but his lone missed postseason kick came in the Super Bowl when the Chiefs needed him most. Ultimately, his 73.1 PFF grade and two field goals of 50+ yards further shows how volatile Butker can be. Whatever slump Butker was in did not carry too far over into the postseason. But his regular season is impossible to ignore.
Butker is signed through 2023, with a $4.5 million cap hit next season. But, the Chiefs could replicate his production with another free-agent kicker. Hopefully, Butker recognizes this before the Chiefs give him his walking papers.