Chiefs Reportedly Sign Justin Tucker to Practice Squad After Butker Misses
The Kansas City Chiefs are signing kicker Justin Tucker to their practice squad, according to ESPN. The move follows a bad afternoon for Harrison Butker, who missed two field goals in Kansas City's loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday in Week 7.
The practice squad is a group of players who are not on the 53-man active roster. They train with the team all week, and a club can call one up for a game. Tucker worked out for the Chiefs on Tuesday alongside kickers Harrison Mevis and Ben Sauls. On Wednesday morning, Butker was the only kicker on Kansas City's 53-man roster.
Butker has had a tough start to 2026. He has missed five of his 16 field goal attempts this season, according to The Guardian. He has won three Super Bowls with the Chiefs and is entering his 10th season with the team.
Tucker's résumé is one of the strongest in the league's history. He spent 13 years with the Baltimore Ravens, the longest tenure of any player on the team, and he was the last remaining member of their 2012 Super Bowl roster. That same season, he won the Super Bowl as a rookie. He made seven Pro Bowls and is a five-time All-Pro. He has made 417 career field goals, 14th all-time, and ranks third all-time in field goal percentage at 89.1%.
His decline came fast. In 2024, he made 22 of 30 field goals, which ranked 31st in the NFL. His final season in Baltimore ended with a 73.3% success rate, the worst of his career. The Ravens released him in May 2025, calling it a "football decision" after his slump. At the time, he had three years left on a four-year, $22 million extension that made him the highest-paid kicker in the league.
The release also came amid serious allegations. In February 2025, The Baltimore Banner reported that 16 massage therapists from eight spas and wellness centers in the Baltimore area had accused Tucker of sexual misconduct. The alleged conduct took place between 2012 and 2016. Tucker has denied the allegations, calling them "unequivocally false," and he described the Banner's report as "desperate tabloid fodder." He has never faced criminal charges.
The NFL suspended Tucker for the first 10 games of the 2025 season under its personal conduct policy. He was eligible to return in November 2025. The New Orleans Saints gave him a tryout that month, but they released kicker Blake Grupe and signed Cade York to their practice squad instead. In September 2026, Tucker was one of three kickers to work out for the New York Jets. He has not played in an NFL game since 2024.
For the Chiefs, the move is a low-cost look at a veteran kicker. It also adds a backup option for a team whose kicking position has come under scrutiny this month. Whether Tucker gets a chance to play will depend on how Butker performs and how the team weighs its options from here.
