Chiefs Sign Justin Tucker to Practice Squad on Oct. 28, 2026

The Kansas City Chiefs signed veteran kicker Justin Tucker to their practice squad on October 28, 2026, bringing the five-time All-Pro into an organization as insurance for struggling incumbent Harrison Butker, ESPN reported. Tucker has not played in an NFL game since the 2024 season.

Chiefs Add Justin Tucker to Practice Squad Behind Struggling Harrison Butker

Tucker turns 37 the following month and spent the entire 2025 season out of the league. He served a 10-game suspension during the 2025 season for violating the NFL personal conduct policy after 16 massage therapists from eight Baltimore-area spas accused him of sexual misconduct, according to a report by The Baltimore Banner. The alleged incidents occurred between 2012 and 2016 during his first five seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, ESPN reported. Tucker has repeatedly denied the allegations, calling the report desperate tabloid fodder and describing the claims as unequivocally false.

The Ravens released Tucker in June 2025 with three years remaining on a four-year, $22 million contract extension that had made him the league’s highest-paid kicker at the time, ESPN reported. He finished his 13-year run in Baltimore as the last remaining player from their 2012 Super Bowl championship team. During his final season in 2024, Tucker converted 73.3% of his field goal attempts, hitting 22 of 30 kicks and missing five attempts from 50 yards or longer, according to ESPN. Despite that difficult campaign, Tucker remains the second-most accurate kicker in NFL history behind Cameron Dicker, holding a career conversion rate of 89.1%.

The signing provides depth as Butker battles a prolonged slump. Butker missed five of his first 16 field goal attempts this season and went 1-for-3 in a 20-3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, according to ESPN and theScore. Butker has made 68.8% of his kicks this year, which stands as a career-low conversion rate. Chiefs head coach Andy Reid told reporters that Butker’s technique is off and lacks consistency, but confirmed that Butker remains on the 53-man roster and will take most of the practice reps ahead of a game against the Denver Broncos.

“We love Harrison,” Reid said, according to ESPN. “He understands the business and how it works. He’s struggled a little bit. Butker will get most of the reps this week. We’ll just see where it goes. It’s fluid.”

Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes Address the Roster Move

Reid declined to elaborate on the vetting process the franchise used before signing Tucker to the practice squad. “He’s done his suspension and took care of that business,” Reid told ESPN. “I’ll leave it at that. We try to do our homework the best way we possibly can and talk to a lot of people and make sure things are OK.”

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes addressed the addition of a longtime rival from the Kansas City-Baltimore series by emphasizing the front office’s roster management. “We had a lot of people that we’ve added in and out,” Mahomes told ESPN. “I try not to get too high or too low on anything. I know [general manager Brett] Veach do a great job of bringing great players in. But for me, it was about the Denver Broncos and moving on and continuing to get better.”

NFL Network reported that Tucker worked out for the Chiefs on Tuesday alongside kickers Harrison Mevis and Ben Sauls before earning the practice squad spot. The 5-1 Chiefs prepare to face the 5-2 Denver Broncos in an AFC West matchup on Sunday, where Butker is expected to handle kicking duties while Tucker remains on the practice squad.

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