Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker had surgery to repair the meniscus in his left, non-kicking knee on Friday, though coach Andy Reid said following practice that the two-time defending Super Bowl champions hope to have him back later this season.
The Chiefs signed Spencer Shrader off the Jets practice squad to fill in for at least the next four weeks. In his only two games, he went 3 for 3 on PATs for Indianapolis against Houston and 2 for 2 on field goals for New York against Arizona.
The unbeaten Chiefs (9-0) head to Buffalo (8-2) in a pivotal showdown in the race for the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs.
“He’s a young guy so his resume isn’t long, but the ones he’s done he’s done a good job with,” Reid said of Shrader, who kicked for South Florida and Notre Dame in college. “He’s got a very strong leg and he’s done well.”
Butker has been the third-most accurate kicker in NFL history since joining the league in 2017, trailing only Justin Tucker and Eddy Pineiro by making nearly 90% of his attempts. He is 18 of 20 on field-goal attempts this year, including a 51-yarder as time expired to give the unbeaten Chiefs a 26-25 victory over the Bengals.
Butker also holds the record for the longest field goal in franchise history with a 62-yarder against the Bills in 2022.
“Listen, I mean, he’s done phenomenal. He’s a great kicker. Arguably going to be a Hall of Fame kicker going forward,” Reid said, “but again, we welcome this kid in and give him a shot.”
Reid said running back Isiah Pacheco, who is coming off injured reserve after ankle surgery, and pass rusher Charles Omenihu, who is returning from a torn ACL, made it through their first week of practice on the scout team without any trouble.
Neither of them is expected to play in Buffalo, though it is possible both could play the following week in Carolina.
Wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, who has been out for nearly a month with a hamstring injury, also did not have any setbacks in practice and is expected to play against Buffalo. He had seven catches for 130 yards in a win over New Orleans in his last full game before getting hurt.
“JuJu had a good week,” Reid said.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
