Chiefs Reportedly Sign Kicker Justin Tucker to Practice Squad Amid Harrison Butker's Struggles
Photo: The Guardian USThe Kansas City Chiefs are signing former Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker to their practice squad, according to reports published Oct. 28, 2026, after Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker missed five of his 16 field goal attempts this season. Sources told NFL Network and ESPN about the move, and the Daily Mail said the Kansas City Star reported it first. Tucker, a five-time All-Pro who made seven Pro Bowls and won a Super Bowl as a rookie, has not played in the NFL since the Ravens released him in May 2025. The Ravens called the move a football decision after a slump; he made 73.3% of his field goals in his last season there, against a career average of 89.1%. In January 2025 the Baltimore Banner reported that 16 massage therapists at eight Baltimore-area spas accused him of sexual misconduct. Tucker denied wrongdoing, was not criminally charged, and served a 10-game suspension for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy. The Chiefs are the first team to sign him since that suspension.
The Guardian US, on the left, ties the signing to Tucker's accusers and his decline. It quotes therapists who called the alleged behavior degrading and said they can no longer watch sports, and it cites the Ravens' "football decision" explanation and his kicking percentages. It also notes Butker's own off-field controversy. On the right, the Daily Mail uses charged labels such as "disgraced" and "scandalized," says Butker's job is at risk, stresses that Tucker is married, and quotes his description of the accusations as shocking and heart-breaking. Fox News uses a more measured headline, citing "reports," but gives the most allegation detail: sessions from 2012 to 2016, five women alleging exposure, and a spa ban his lawyers denied. Both sides agree on the signing, Butker's 5-for-16 and the suspension. They differ in sourcing and emphasis: accuser testimony and performance data on the left, Butker's job security and the allegations' specifics on the right. ESPN and TMZ, the alternative sources, are brief and focus on the signing and Tucker's All-Pro career.
How the sides differ Left sources center accusers' voices and Tucker's decline in form; right sources use sharper labels and detail the allegations; alternative sources focus on the signing itself.
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The Guardian US leads with the reported signing and Butker's slump, then foregrounds accusers' quotes, the Ravens' stated reason for releasing Tucker, and his declining kick percentages.
ESPN and TMZ report the signing briefly, citing sources and Tucker's All-Pro career, with little on the allegations beyond TMZ's mention of his earlier suspension.
The Daily Mail uses labels like "disgraced" and frames Butker's job as at risk. Fox News is more measured, citing reports and detailing the Banner's allegations and Tucker's legal team's denial.