Chiefs reportedly sign Justin Tucker to practice squad after Harrison Butker misses two field goals in Week 7

The Kansas City Chiefs could be on the verge of replacing longtime kicker Harrison Butker. Days after Butker missed two field goals in an embarrassing 20-3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, the Chiefs reportedly signed kicker Justin Tucker to their practice squad, per the Kansas City Star.

Tucker has not appeared in the NFL since the 2024 season. He was released by the Baltimore Ravens ahead of the 2025 NFL season after being accused of sexual misconduct by multiple massage therapists.

Tucker has received tryouts with other NFL teams in the years since his release, but has gone unsigned until now.

Prior to his release, Tucker was considered one of the best kickers in the NFL. From 2013 to 2023, he made the All-Pro first team five times and was a seven-time Pro Bowler.

His performance, however, started to slip in his final season with the Ravens. Tucker made a career-worst 73.3% of his field-goal attempts that year, with many of his misses coming from longer distances. Despite that, it looked as though the Ravens planned to bring Tucker back in 2025 until accusations against him came to light.

Tucker was ultimately handed a 10-game suspension from the NFL ahead of the 2025 season. Though he was not with a team, the NFL counted the first 10 weeks of the regular season as time served for Tucker. Because of that, he will be eligible to kick immediately if the Chiefs promote him to their active roster.

Prior to 2026, Butker had been a model of consistency on the field. The 31-year-old was coming off a nine-year stretch in which he made at least 84% of his field goals in every season.

But Butker has experienced some uncharacteristic misses to start 2026. In addition to his two missed field goals against the Seahawks, Butker has missed three other field-goal attempts so far, the majority of which have come from 50+ yards out, where Butker has made just 2-of-6 attempts this year.