NFL
Chiefs Add Justin Tucker to Practice Squad After Butker’s Misses
Kansas City adds the veteran kicker to its practice squad while Harrison Butker remains on the active roster after two misses against Seattle.
The Kansas City Chiefs are adding Justin Tucker to their practice squad, creating competition at kicker after Harrison Butker missed two field goals in Sunday’s 20–3 loss to Seattle. NFL Network and ESPN reported the signing Wednesday, following an initial report from The Kansas City Star.
The distinction between the practice squad and the active roster matters. Butker remains on Kansas City’s 53-man roster. Bringing Tucker into the organization gives the Chiefs another option, but the reported transaction does not itself establish that Tucker will handle the next game’s kicking duties or that Butker has been released.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Kansas City worked out three kickers, including Tucker and former Rams kicker Harrison Mevis. The search followed a difficult opening stretch for Butker, who has missed five field-goal attempts and one extra point this season, according to NFL.com’s report.
Tucker, 36, last played during the 2024 season. He spent 13 seasons with Baltimore, earned seven Pro Bowl selections and was named a first-team All-Pro five times. His career field-goal conversion rate stands at 89.1 percent, although his final Ravens season fell below that standard.
In 2024, Tucker missed eight of 30 field-goal attempts and two extra points. Five of the missed field goals came from at least 50 yards. That recent playing record is relevant alongside his longer career résumé as Kansas City evaluates what he can provide after an extended absence from competition.
Tucker also served a 10-game NFL suspension in 2025 for violating the league’s personal conduct policy. Baltimore released him that spring. The disciplinary history remains part of the context of his return; this practice-squad agreement is a football transaction and does not change the league’s earlier action.
Kansas City is coming off a defeat in which its offense produced only three points. Reassessing the kicking position addresses one component of that result, while the next roster and game-day decisions will determine whether the competition leads to an actual change.
Until the Chiefs announce those decisions, the confirmed development is the addition of a veteran alternative while the incumbent kicker remains in place.
