As the NFL gets set to change its kickoff rules, the Kansas City Chiefs are preparing accordingly.
Speaking at Chiefs organized team activities on Thursday, Kansas City special teams coordinator Dave Toub revealed the team is considering benching Harrison Butker for kickoffs. Instead, the Chiefs will look to potentially use defensive back Justin Reid for the play, as the league’s new rules will likely result in more kickers being involved in tackles.
“I like to have somebody that’s able to make a tackle. Butker’s able to make a tackle, but I really don’t want him making tackles all year long,” Toub said. “If you watch the XFL, we watched every play, I’d bet kickers were involved in probably at least 25-40% of the tackles… we don’t want Butker in that situation. But he will be a kicker. He will be a guy we’ll use in certain situations.”
The #Chiefs have considered not using Harrison Butker for all kickoffs and instead using a player like safety Justin Reid.
Special teams coordinator Dave Toub said the new kickoff rule has kickers more involved in tackles, and they don’t want that for Butker.
The full answer is… pic.twitter.com/V10t0QkMFf
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) May 30, 2024
As Toub alluded to, the new rule was adopted after being used in the XFL and will see the ball kicked off from the 35-yard line with all kicking team players other than the kicker lining up with one foot on the receiving team’s 40-yard line. All kicking team players are unable to move until the receiving team catches the ball.
Reid previously served as an emergency kicker both during his college career at Stanford and for the Chiefs. In 2022, he made one of two extra-point tries and recorded seven kickoffs, five of which registered as touchbacks.
News of the Chiefs’ kicking move comes weeks after Butker came under fire for comments made while giving the commencement speech at Benedictine University, which were considered mysoginistic, homophobic and antisemitic. Chiefs players and coaches have defended the kicker’s right to express his opinion.
