How Justin Tucker’s 89.1% career accuracy compares with Harrison Butker’s career-low 68.8% this season

The Kansas City Chiefs signed kicker Justin Tucker to their practice squad on Wednesday, days after Harrison Butker missed two field goals in a loss at Seattle. Butker has made 11 of 16 attempts this season, a career-low 68.8%. Tucker, 36, owns an 89.1% career rate, second best in NFL history, but he has not kicked in the league since 2024. The Chiefs are 5-1, and head coach Andy Reid has not handed the job to anyone else. Still, a seven-time Pro Bowler now stands a few yards away from the man he might replace.Justin Tucker's 89.1% career rate against Butker's 68.8% this seasonJustin Tucker's number comes from a long stretch of work. Across 13 seasons in Baltimore he led the league at 94.6% in 2021 and posted a career-best 97.4% in 2016. His 417 made field goals rank 14th all time. He also once held the NFL record with a 66-yarder against Detroit. That is what a team is buying when it wants certainty.Butker's 68.8% is a different kind of figure. It covers only six games, so one clean weekend could move it a lot. But the drop is steep. He made 86.8% in 2025 and 88.4% from 2017 through 2025. This year he sits almost 20 points below his own norm.Butker began the season third all time, behind Tucker and Cameron Dicker. Now he is working against his own record. The sample is small enough that a recovery is still possible, but the Chiefs have seen enough to buy some insurance.Seattle showed the problemSunday night made it plain. Butker missed a 58-yard field goal at the end of the first half and a 45-yarder in the fourth quarter. Kansas City lost 20-3, so every point mattered.A 58-yarder is a long try for anyone. The 45-yarder is the one that should bother the Chiefs. He has also missed an extra point this year, and NBC Sports counts seven misses across his last 11 games.Reid did not dodge it afterward. "He's been one of the most consistent kickers in football." He added that Butker is a bit off and has to fix it.Butker has three Super Bowl rings in Kansas City. That history buys patience.Why Justin Tucker is on the practice squadTucker is not on the 53-man roster, and Butker's job is not in immediate danger. The Chiefs are 5-1, which gives them room to wait. They worked out three kickers this week and picked Tucker over former Rams kicker Harrison Mevis.The résumé comes with questions. In 2024 Tucker went 22 of 30, or 73.3%, the worst season of his career. The NFL then suspended him for 10 games in 2025, and the Ravens released him in May of that year. Tucker has maintained that he did nothing inappropriate. Workouts followed with the Saints, Colts and Jets, but no contract.So the Chiefs are weighing a proven career against a rough last season and a long layoff. If Butker misses again, they will not have to start a search. Practice squad players can also be elevated for game days, so a switch would not take much paperwork.For now, Tucker practices and Butker kicks.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.