Harrison Butker will live to kick another week.
Right or wrong, Andy Reid has made up his mind. The Kansas City Chiefs head coach announced the decision to go with Butker for at least one more game as the team's kicker as they travel to face the Atlanta Falcons in Week 10.
Harrison Butker survives another week despite mounting struggles
Butker's struggles to convert longer field goals—with only 2 conversions on 8 attempts from 50 yards or more—have led to plenty of fan frustration. Reid himself has faced plenty of questions each week over the decision to continue with Butker, despite the fact that he's statistically the NFL's worst kicker while being paid like one of the best.
Two weeks ago, the Chiefs signed veteran Justin Tucker to the practice squad, which was the first real sign of any competition for Butker. The belief was that the switch would be made at some point, but the fact that Tucker remained on the taxi squad was confusing for a fan base largely clamoring for change. Not to mention, the fact that the team leaned into Tucker's signing, despite being so widely criticized (due to sexual misconduct allegations that led to a 10-game suspension in 2025), made it all feel weird that Tucker wasn't being used.
Even after Butker missed two more long-distance field goal attempts in Week 9 against the Jets (one of them unofficial), Reid's keeping Tucker at bay even as K.C. continues to employ him.
“Harrison has done such a great job for us over time here. Sometimes, you go through these little peaks and valleys things. So you have to give him a chance to work through them; we’ll see how things go," said Reid on Wednesday.
Andy Reid's loyalty is becoming harder to explain
For those looking for a sensible approach, Reid's own inability to cut ties with Butker in any way is maddening. Like it or not, however, the decision is Reid's to make. And searching for any sort of consistency or logical thread—those yelling "make it make sense"—is only going to make things worse. Reid is sentimental here.
The NFL is a business, and the acronym itself often stands for "not for long." But Reid's been around the block a few times, and the legendary coach has his own way of doing things. Chiefs Kingdom has already encountered this a few times with the benching of Kingsley Suamataia and the unfolding of Josh Simmons' absence from the team. In every case, Reid has been prickly, frustrated, coy, guarded, and loyal.
Harrison Butker's Super Bowl legacy has bought him a longer leash
When it comes to Butker's absurd job security, the only factor seems to be sentiment on the part of Reid. While Bill Belichick was hailed for his proactive approach to player movement, which was cold in every way, during the New England Patriots' dynasty, Reid's warm approach runs counter to the "not for long" label. It's possible that it earns him favor with the locker room, but fan sentiment is worth mentioning here as well. And fans are impatient.
Whether pragmatism is warranted over the romanticism that's currently serving as the base of Reid's decision-making tree is in the eye of the beholder. Reid is all in with his sentimental self. Butker's heroics during the team's run of Super Bowl titles has cemented him in something more than the team's eventual Ring of Honor. It's also given him a long, long leash with his head coach—for better or worse.
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