Chiefs add Justin Tucker to practice squad as Harrison Butker struggles

The Kansas City Chiefs are signing former Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker to their practice squad, bringing in a veteran while Harrison Butker attempts to recover from a poor start to the season. NBC Sports and The Guardian reported the move. Butker has missed five of 16 field-goal attempts, and Chiefs coach Andy Reid said the kicker had not been as consistent as he wanted.

Butker, who has won three Super Bowls with Kansas City, is expected to take most of the team’s practice repetitions this week. Reid described the situation as fluid and said the club would assess how it develops. Tucker has not played in the NFL since Baltimore released him in May 2025.

During his Ravens career he made seven Pro Bowls and won the Super Bowl in his rookie season. His career field-goal rate is 89.1%, but his final season in Baltimore produced a career-low 73.3% conversion rate. His release came after more than a dozen massage therapists accused him of inappropriate sexual behavior at spas and wellness centres in the Baltimore area.

Tucker denied the allegations and was not criminally charged, but the NFL suspended him for 10 games under its personal conduct policy. Asked what Tucker’s arrival said to the team’s female supporters, Reid said the kicker had completed his suspension and “took care of that business there”. Reid added that the Chiefs had conducted their own checks and spoken to a number of people before making the move.

The signing also places two kickers with prominent off-field controversies in the same Kansas City organisation. Butker drew criticism for a 2024 commencement speech at Benedictine College in which he criticised Pride month, working women, Joe Biden’s leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic and abortion. Reid said the Chiefs continued to value Butker while acknowledging his current performance.

“We love Harrison,” he said, adding that the kicker understood the business and was working through his struggles. Tucker’s practice-squad status does not mean he has immediately replaced Butker. The supplied reports say Butker will retain the majority of the practice work for now, leaving the team’s eventual kicking arrangement unresolved.