Andy Reid explains Chiefs signing Justin Tucker after sexual misconduct allegations

The Kansas City Chiefs are signing veteran kicker Justin Tucker to their practice squad on Wednesday, as first reported by Star columnist Sam McDowell . Tucker last played during the 2024 season as a member of the Baltimore Ravens.

The roster move comes amid the struggles of Chiefs starting kicker Harrison Butker , who missed two of three field goals Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks.

Butker has made 68.8% of his field-goal attempts this season (11-for-16), placing him near the bottom of the league.

The 36-year-old comes with quite a kicking résumé, having earned five first-team All-Pro selections, three second-team All-Pro honors and seven Pro Bowl selections. He was also named to the NFL's 2010s All-Decade Team.

He was the kicker for Baltimore's Super Bowl XLVII championship team and ranks second in NFL history in career field-goal percentage (89.1%).

The addition also brings significant off-field controversy.

In January 2025, The Baltimore Banner published allegations of sexually inappropriate conduct by Tucker from six massage therapists in the Baltimore area. By February, 16 massage therapists had accused him of misconduct.

In response, Tucker denied the allegations, calling them "unequivocally false."

From 2012-23, Tucker converted 90.2% of his field-goal attempts, but that figure dipped to a career-low 73.3% in 2024. When the Ravens released Tucker in May 2025, Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta framed the move as a "football decision."

Following an investigation, the NFL announced a 10-game suspension for violating its personal conduct policy. Tucker did not appeal.

Tucker became eligible for reinstatement in mid-November 2025, but no team signed him for the remainder of the season.

According to McDowell, the Chiefs also worked out kickers Ben Sauls and Harrison Mevis this week before ultimately deciding to sign Tucker.

During his usual Wednesday media appearance, Kansas City head coach Andy Reid accepted questions on the signing.

"We try to do our homework the best way we possibly can," Reid said. "I talked to a lot of people, make sure things are OK."

Reid declined to provide details on his research. When the head coach was asked what message this may send to Chiefs fans, he referenced Tucker's 2025 punishment.

"He's got his suspension," Reid said. "(He took) care of that business there. I'll leave it at that for you."

While the Chiefs now the first team to give Tucker another roster opportunity since his release from Baltimore, he reportedly worked out for the Indianapolis Colts, New York Jets, New Orleans Saints and Miami Dolphins over the past two seasons.

Butker has been Kansas City's starting kicker since midway through the 2017 season. This represents one of the clearest challenges to Butker's job security since he became Kansas City's starting kicker in 2017.

"Harrison, I love," Reid said. "He's one of my favorite guys. And sometimes, things don't go quite the way you want them, and you work on that. So (Butker) understands the business and how it works. And we had a practice-squad position open, and so, for security, we brought him in and put him in that spot that we had open.

"Butker gets it, and he knows that's part of this business. He's struggled a little bit, and he gets it."

Reid said Butker's recent problems have been related to his technique — and that he will continue receiving most of the practice reps this week as he works through them.

Reid said Butker will likely remain the starting kicker for Sunday's game against the Denver Broncos, giving him another opportunity to keep his job.