The Kansas City Chiefs have backed Harrison Butker through his early-season struggles, but as it turns out, there's only so much job security a player can enjoy before even Super Bowl heroes have to compete for their jobs.
On Wednesday, Sam McDowell of the Kansas City Star reported that the Chiefs were expected to sign veteran kicker Justin Tucker to the team's practice squad. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network adds that Tucker was one of three kickers working out for the Chiefs, a list that also included Harrison Mevis.
Chiefs add a well-known competitor for Butker
While kickers aren't exactly household names, Tucker might be the exception, which makes the signing even more interesting for fans. Tucker was the Baltimore Ravens' longtime kicker who has an on-field case for eventual Hall of Fame induction given his body of work.
Tucker joined the Ravens as an undrafted free agent back in 2012 and spent 13 seasons with the franchise, mostly as a longtime rival battling for AFC supremacy with the Chiefs. He has five first-team All-Pro honors and seven Pro Bowl nods, built on a leg that ranks third all-time in field goal percentage at 89.1 percent and once held the NFL record for the longest field goal (a 66-yarder against Detroit as time expired in 2021). He's also No. 17 on the NFL's all-time points list with 1,775.
But accuracy was also a problem for Tucker in his final year (2024) with the Ravens. He converted only 73.3 percent of attempts, which included going 6 from 11 from 50 yards or more, which sounds similar to what the Chiefs have witnessed in 2026.
Tucker's signing will also bring up the NFL investigation that got him released by the Ravens in '25, wherein he was accused by more than a dozen massage therapists of sexual misconduct early in his career. After serving a 10-game suspension, Tucker has been free to sign with any team. Other franchises have brought him in for tryouts this year, including the Saints, Colts, and Jets, but Tucker is now set to join the Chiefs.
Butker's struggles were becoming too much
Tucker isn't the only kicking legend on the Chiefs' roster. Butker came through in the clutch for the entirety of the Chiefs' dynastic run that culminated in three Super Bowl titles. Nothing can take that away from him.
But legends can fade, and Butker's struggles with both power and accuracy are well-documented at this point. He's made only 11 of 16 field goals this season, and this comes after previous campaigns saw him struggle with missed extra points and a general decline in accuracy from previous career highs. On Sunday, against the Seattle Seahawks in primetime, Butker went wide right with a 45-yard attempt late in the game after already missing a 58-yard attempt that just came up short.
Harrison Butker's 15 missed kicks (10 FGs, 5 PATs) since start of last season are the most in NFL.
— Josh Dubow (@JoshDubowAP) October 26, 2026
Experience is the key here
What's clear in the Chiefs' approach is that they're not up for taking chances on the field. Tucker is the only available kicker who could come into K.C. with the sort of résumé that would stand up to Butker's, which indicates that general manager Brett Veach didn't want to toy with some new long-term possibility. The Chiefs' kicking woes are an immediate concern, and a franchise that's keen to maintain their lead in the AFC West needs to stop the bleeding as soon as possible.
Tucker's presence on the practice squad places very real pressure on Butker to figure things out on the field. And if the new arrival is promoted to the active roster at some point, no one will be asking questions about his readiness or ability to handle clutch situations.
The Chiefs now have two storied kickers on the roster in the hopes that one of them can provide stability at a position that's become far too turbulent to carry on any longer.
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