The Kansas City Chiefs will be without another key player for an extended period due to injury.
According to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Chiefs are signing kicker Spencer Shrader off the New York Jets practice squad and placing kicker Harrison Butker on injured reserve due to a knee injury. Butker, who initially wasn’t on the radar of any significant injury concerns earlier in the week, was announced as limited in Thursday’s practice with a left knee injury.
The veteran kicker will miss at least the next four games due to the injured reserve designation. Through nine regular-season games, Butker has connected 18-for-20 on field-goal attempts and 21-for-22 on extra-point tries. He notably had an uncharacteristic moment in the fourth quarter of the Week 10 victory over the Denver Broncos, pushing the kickoff out of bounds, giving the opponents excellent field position for the final drive.
The Chiefs are reportedly adding kicker Shrader from the Jets practice squad; he played in New York’s Week 10 game against the Arizona Cardinals, connecting on both field-goal attempts. He was relegated to the practice squad after regular Jets starter Greg Zuerlein was cleared to return from injured reserve.