Tag: kicker

Chiefs K Harrison Butker reaches milestone after divisional round performance

Kansas City #Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker reaches milestone after divisional round performance | @EdEastonJr

The Kansas City Chiefs will play the Buffalo Bills in their seventh consecutive AFC Championship game this Sunday. The team’s latest victory over the Houston Texans was primarily due to its defense and the efficiency of veteran kicker Harrison Butker.

Butker started the divisional round game with a 32-yard field goal in the first quarter, marking his 33rd career postseason field goal. This broke a tie with Gary Anderson for sole possession of the fourth-most field goals in NFL postseason history. He added field goals from 36 and 27 yards and now owns 35 career postseason field goals, which have shown little issue since his knee injury in midseason.

“He’s (Harrison Butker) working through that (injury recovery), and he’ll be fine. He’s a hard worker, that’s what he does, and he’s a perfectionist on everything,” said head coach Andy Reid before the divisional game about Butker’s comeback from knee surgery. “He’ll just keep cranking, and I think he’s getting better every day as he goes through this.”

With 11 points in last Saturday’s victory, Butker has 169 career postseason points, moving past Mason Crosby for the fourth-most postseason points in NFL history. He also extended his franchise record and needs seven points to pass David Akers for third place on the list. 

Chiefs coaching staff are confident in Harrison Butker’s health entering the postseason

Kansas City #Chiefs coaching staff are confident in Harrison Butker’s health entering the postseason | @EdEastonJr

The Kansas City Chiefs enter another postseason with eyes on a Super Bowl three-peat featuring many of the top players from each of their past titles. One of the most impactful members of those teams is kicker Harrison Butker, who has had to battle through an injury in the 2024 season.

Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub has consistently championed Butker’s recovery and return to the lineup before the postseason. He answered questions from reporters during the week about the league’s highest-paid kicker’s health after having surgery in the middle of the season.

“He (Harrison Butker) had surgery on that knee; we can’t forget that,” said Toub. “It was a minor surgery, but still – it lingered a little bit because it’s the plant leg that he collapses or whatever we want to call that. It’s changed up things a little bit, but he’s – you know, I think he’s looked good most recently.”

Since Butler’s return from injured reserve on December 14th, he is three for five in field goal attempts, including a miss in the Chiefs’ regular season finale loss to the Denver Broncos. He connected on 21 of 25 attempts during the year, while Kansas City utilized the services of Matthew Wright and Spencer Shrader during his injury absence.

Ex-Broncos kicker asks UFL team for another shot at spring football

Taylor Russolino, who was an emergency fill-in kicker for the Broncos in 2020, has asked the UFL’s St. Louis Battlehawks for another chance.

A former Denver Broncos kicker is attempting to extend his pro football career with hopes of returning to spring football.

Taylor Russolino, who served as an emergency kicker for the Broncos during the NFL’s COVID-19 season in 2020, wants to return to the St. Louis Battlehawks.

Russolino kicked for the Battlehawks, an XFL team at the time, in the spring of 2020. He joined Denver’s practice squad eight months later.

The Broncos were looking for an emergency fill-in kicker that season in case Brandon McManus caught the coronavirus. Denver ended up signing Russolino following a recommendation from ex-NFL punter Pat McAfee.

In his lone appearance with the Broncos that year, Russolino missed a 51-yard field goal wide right and went 1-of-3 on extra-point attempts. Then-coach Vic Fangio said he was disappointed after the game.

“Obviously, there was some wind out there, but it didn’t bother their kicker,” Fangio said. “Yeah, I thought he was going to kick better than he did.”

Russolino later spent time with the Arlington Renegades from 2023-2024. The 35-year-old kicker now hopes to return to spring football in 2025.

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Saints have already re-signed their first pending free agent for 2025

The New Orleans Saints have already re-signed their first pending free agent for 2025. Irish kicker Charlie Smyth will return to compete with Blake Grupe this summer:

The New Orleans Saints have a long list of pressing matters on their offseason to-do list, so it may be a little surprising to learn their first order of business was re-signing the backup kicker. But NFL Ireland’s Michael McQuaid first reported that Charlie Smyth was the first of the team’s pending free agents to put pen to paper on a new deal. It’s a two-year contract.

As for the timing? Smyth spent his rookie year on the Saints practice squad, so his contract expired after their final regular season game. We’ll see a wave of reserve/future contracts signed by players who were on the practice squad over the next week or two as the Saints work to retain them. Remember, these are league-minimum deals that effectively promise nothing more than an extended tryout at training camp. It’s standard practice for every team.

Hopefully Smyth can beat those expectations. The young pro has a big leg and he’s been hard at work refining his craft. He held his own in the preseason last summer and is poised to push Blake Grupe again in 2025. Grupe improved his accuracy on field goals (going from 81.1%, which ranked 25th last year; to 87.1%, which ranks 13th this season) but whiffed on a pair of extra point tries while extending his career-long to 57 yards. Grupe has earned some more trust but he’s not yet known for having ice water in his veins. We can’t rule out a rally by Smyth later this year.

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Oklahoma Sooners sign transfer portal kicker

Oklahoma Sooners add experienced kicker via the transfer portal.

The Oklahoma Sooners added their second special teamer from Kennesaw State, signing former Owls kicker Austin Welch. Welch reunites with former teammates tight end Carson Kent and punter Jacob Ulrich, who signed with the Sooners out of the [autotag]transfer portal[/autotag].

Welch arrives in Norman to take part in the kicker competition to replace Zach Schmit and Tyler Keltner, whose Oklahoma career came to a close this season.

In 2024, Welch was 20 of 21 on point after attempts (PAT) and hit 14 of 18 field goal attempts. According to Pro Football Focus, he was 11 of 12 on attempts under 40 yards and just 3 of 6 on field goals between 40 and 49 yards last season.

11 of his 27 kickoff attempts were touchbacks and opponents averaged just 20.5 yards per kickoff return.

Welch will join former Kohl’s Kicking five-star Liam Evans, who was a freshman in 2024, in the kicking competition.

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Will Harrison Butker play today? Injury updates for Chiefs kicker

#Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker is dealing with a knee injury. Here are the latest updates. 

The Kansas City Chiefs were recently without starting kicker Harrison Butker for Weeks 11-14 while he was on injured reserve.

Ahead of their showdown with the Houston Texans in Week 16, Butker was listed on the Chiefs’ injury report.

Is Butker expected to play against the Texans?

Harrison Butker injury update

Earlier this season, Butker sustained a knee injury during practice that necessitated that he undergo surgery. He was briefly placed on Kansas City’s injured reserve list but was activated for the Chiefs’ Week 15 matchup against the Browns.

He was a full participant in all of Kansas City’s practices this week and will play against the Texans this afternoon.

How long will Harrison Butker be out?

While Butker is still listed on the injury report, he is not expected to miss any more games.

Chiefs kicker depth chart

Butker is Kansas City’s lone place kicker on the active roster. Spencer Shrader, who was signed to fill in for Butker, remains on the Chiefs’ injured reserve list.

Chiefs Dave Toub takes the blame for missed field goal vs. Browns: ‘That was my fault’

Kansas City #Chiefs Dave Toub takes the blame for missed field goal vs. Browns: ‘That was my fault’ | @EdEastonJr

Harrison Butker’s return last Sunday was an encouraging sign as he continues to regain strength ahead of the postseason. However, he missed a field goal in the victory over the Cleveland Browns, causing some concern that he may not be healthy enough to be in the lineup.

Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub immediately dismissed that as the reason and laid the blame on his in-game decision, which he explained to reporters on Wednesday.

“I’ll just talk about the miss. I need to do a better job of communicating with the holder and the snapper. You know that we were going to kick the field goal. I just assumed they were together, but they weren’t.” said Toub. “That was my fault. So I mean that that little bit of a change where Harrison’s panicking, where are they? You know? I mean that that has an effect.”

Butker returned after missing several weeks due to surgery on his non-kicking leg, and the Chiefs used two different kickers in his absence.

“So it wasn’t his injury. I don’t think that had anything to do with it,” said Toub. “I just think anything, anytime you get an operation out of sync, like that, whether they have to rush or somebody’s not there, it’s that puts a toll on it, and I think that’s what happened there, you know, I’ll take the glow I was my fault. Get those guys out there. I can’t assume that they’re right together.”

Butker will have a chance to redeem the miss this Saturday back home at Arrowhead Stadium.

Report: Chiefs to release Matthew Wright, clear way for Harrison Butker’s return

The Kansas City #Chiefs released kicker Matthew Wright on Saturday, clearing the way for Harrison Butker to return in Week 15.

According to a report from NFL insider Adam Schefter, the Kansas City Chiefs are set to release kicker Matthew Wright and welcome Harrison Butker back to their starting lineup in Week 15.

The news comes just a day before the defending Super Bowl champions’ matchup against the Cleveland Browns at Huntington Bank Field and could have huge implications for Kansas City’s special teams unit.

Butker was placed on the Chiefs’ injured reserve list on November 15, and Kansas City initially signed kicker Spencer Shrader to replace him. Shortly thereafter, Shrader was injured, which led to the Chiefs’ decision to sign Wright in Week 13.

Wright was nearly perfect on his field goal attempts through two games in Kansas City, missing just one attempt in nine three-point tries.

Butker’s return to the starting lineup should prove to be a boon for Dave Toub’s special teams unit as the Chiefs make their push toward January’s AFC playoffs.

Wisconsin kicker departs transfer portal, returns to the Badgers

Wisconsin kicker departs transfer portal, returns to the Badgers

Wisconsin kicker Gavin Lahm has withdrawn his name from the transfer portal and will return to the Badgers, according to his recent post on X.

The former walk-on is one of 19 Wisconsin players to enter the portal. He joins wide receiver Trech Kekahuna in returning to the school.

Related: Wisconsin football 2024 transfer portal departure tracker

Lahm joined the program as a walk-on in the class of 2022. He has operated as its kickoff specialist over each of the last three seasons, notching a 49% touchback rate (67 of 135) with a net average of 62.2 yards. The veteran kicker also tallied a solo tackle in 2024.

Lahm likely entered the transfer portal looking for an opportunity to start at placekicker. That position has been held throughout his time with the Badgers by Nate Van Zelst/Vito Calvaruso in 2022 and then Nathanial Vakos in both 2023 and 2024.

While Vakos is set to return for 2025, he made just 63.2% (12 of 19) of his kicks in 2024 after a terrific 2023 campaign. He was inexplicably 6-of-13 from 30-to-49 yards but 3-of-3 from beyond 50.

Vakos figures to start again in 2025. But that sub-par 2024 campaign could open the door for a competition at the position.

Lahm returns to the Badgers with one year of eligibility remaining.

Bookmark our transfer departure tracker for up-to-date information on Wisconsin’s transfer movement and where former Badgers are headed.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion.

Chiefs Dave Toub reveals injury recovery timeline for Harrison Butker: ‘He just started kicking’

Kansas City #Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub reveals injury recovery timeline for Harrison Butker: ‘He just started kicking’ | @EdEastonJr

Kansas City Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub spoke with reporters on Thursday about kicker Harrison Butker’s injury recovery progress.

“He looked good. We got to see how he responds. He’s going to kick again today.” said Toub. And put a little bit more on him. And I think he looks pretty good. We’ll see.”

The Chiefs have managed well without Butker, utilizing Spencer Shrader and Matthew Wright in his place. The latter won AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors for his efforts against the Los Angeles Chargers.

“If Harrison (Butker) is back, he’s back; I think he’ll get better as we keep him kicking more. He just started kicking again, as he’s starting to feel better, starting to get his power back, and it’s going to be a little bit before we, you know, he’s a hundred percent,” said Toub. “I’d say maybe two or three weeks, hitting the ground running time for playoffs. So, we got him back on that horse and back out there and going again. I mean, he had surgery on his knee. So we have to remember that and manage him.”

Butker had successful knee surgery last month and is returning to playing shape for the postseason. The Chiefs hope he will bring the consistency and strong leg that have helped them capture three Super Bowl titles.