Kansas City Chiefs' latest roster moves raise questions about K Harrison Butker's injury return timeline
The Kansas City Chiefs continue to navigate injuries at one of the most important non-QB positions in the game. Chiefs K Harrison Butker has now been out for the past three weeks after being placed on IR due to a meniscus injury. His backup, Spencer Shrader, missed Week 13's game with a hamstring injury suffered during a private […]
The Kansas City Chiefs continue to navigate injuries at one of the most important non-QB positions in the game.
Chiefs K Harrison Butker has now been out for the past three weeks after being placed on IR due to a meniscus injury. His backup, Spencer Shrader, missed Week 13's game with a hamstring injury suffered during a private workout. They were left relying on practice squad K Matthew Wright against the Las Vegas Raiders, a player they're quite familiar with after he kicked for the team in 2022.
After Wednesday's latest roster moves, it looks like Kansas City is sticking with Wright for the immediate future. Andy Reid announced that the team had placed Shrader on injured reserve and that Wright had been signed to the 53-man roster.
What does this move mean for Chiefs K Spencer Shrader?
Shrader will now miss a minimum of the next four games with his hamstring injury. He'll be eligible to be designated to return from injured reserve as of Week 18 against the Denver Broncos. It's not clear if he'll return at all this season, but having him on injured reserve could prove to be a major boon for Kansas City should something else go wrong at the kicker position.
What does this move signal about Chiefs K Harrison Butker's injury return timeline?
Butker has to miss at least one more game for Kansas City based on the league's IR return designation rules. Asked whether the team was sticking with their original four-week timeline for Butker, Chiefs HC Andy Reid did not provide a solid answer.
"Potentially, yes," Reid said. "I mean, he's doing good. We'll just see how it goes here in the next week or two. But he's making good progress. So, that's a plus."
The move to add Wright to the 53-man roster from the practice squad protects him from being poached. It also might signal that the Chiefs will need him to kick longer than anticipated. Wright only had two practice squad elevations remaining after the team exhausted his first elevation in Week 13 against the Las Vegas Raiders.
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