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It has become a familiar story throughout the early part of this season as Kansas City Chiefs PK Harrison Butker will not play against the Las Vegas Raiders when the teams meet Monday night.
Chiefs ruled out kicker Harrison Butker for Monday night’s game vs. the Raiders. Trey Smith, Mike Danna, and JuJu Smith-Schuster are each listed as questionable for Monday night.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 8, 2022
Butker has still not recovered from the ankle injury he suffered in September. He kicked in Kansas City's opener against the Arizona Cardinals but has not played since that game.
Special teams coach Dave Toub told media members Friday that Butker's injury was worse than originally anticipated. Butker had previously attempted to get back to active status by practicing a one-step approach, but the Chiefs decided they want Butker to return to top form before he returns to the lineup.
Matthew Wright will continue to handle placekicking chores in Butker's absence. He kicked in the Chiefs' 41-31 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 4, and he connected on all five of his extra-point attempts and was 2-of-2 on his field goal attempts. That included a long attempt of 44 yards.
His presence gives Toub confidence that the kicking game will not let the Chiefs down. “It does, it helps,” Toub said, via USA Today. “We’re not out looking for a kicker right now like we did last week. We like (Matthew Wright) and we like the job he did last week. Now, you’ve got to put it together and do it again. It’s about consistency.”
While Wright appears to be a fine short-term answer, Harrison Butker has had remarkable success throughout his six-year career with the Chief. He has made 147-of-163 field goal attempts throughout his tenure, for a notable 90.2 success rate. Strangely, he has missed 15 extra-point attempts in his six years, meaning he has missed just one more three-point attempt than point after.
The Chiefs bring a 3-1 record into the Monday night game, while the Raiders are 1-3.
