Chiefs Considering Replacing Harrison Butker on Kickoff Team

The NFL will implement a wild new kickoff rule that was made famous by the XFL. This new kickoff rule was implemented to mitigate the low amount of kickoff returns the NFL saw in 2023, but the rule is also aiding teams in rethinking their entire special teams strategy.

Read more: NFL News: Breakdown of Wild Proposed Kickoff Rule for 2024 Season

Per the new kickoff rule, the kicker of the kicking team will kick off from their own 35-yard line. This is not much of a big change, but things get far trickier. The kicking team’s other players will then line up on the receiving team’s 40-yard line, while the receiving team will have a minimum of nine players line up anywhere from their own 30 to 35-yard line.

The new rule is meant to essentially shorten the field to also mitigate potential injuries from players having to spring nearly the entire length of the football field. The issue with this new way of kicking leaves the kicker by themselves as the last line of defense, should the returner get past the wall of the kicking team’s defenders. The likelihood of a returner getting past the defenders might also be heightened with this new kickoff rule.

Because of the new rule, teams are already playing around with the idea of changing how they engage in kickoffs. Kansas City Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub broke down the new ideas for kickers to reporters on Thursday.

Toub stated, “I like to have somebody who can go back and is able to make a tackle,” Toub explained Thursday. “(Harrison) Butker is able to make a tackle, but I really don’t want him making tackles all year long. If you watch the XFL, we watched every play, I bet kickers were involved in at least 25 to 40 percent of the tackles. In either trying to make a guy bounce back or making the tackle himself, or just missing the tackle. We don’t want Butker in that situation. But he will be a kicker.”

Toub also revealed that the Chiefs are playing with the idea of using defensive back Justin Reid in kickoff stations instead as he “can go down there and make tackles.”

What makes this situation a bit more interesting for the Chiefs is that Butker recently made headlines for his commencement speech that was widely considered controversial. Butker’s socially conservative comments were critical of Pride Month, implying that it is, “the deadly sin sort of pride that has an entire month dedicated to it.” He also implied that women should not enter the workforce and instead focus on being mothers.

The NFL was quick to make a statement about Butker’s comments, stating, “His views are not those of the NFL as an organization.”

Chiefs players and head coach Andy Reid also stated their piece about the situation, with most stating they did not agree with Butker. So far, the NFL has not come down with any punishment for Butker because of his comments. However, it is a bit oddly timed that the team is now considering replacing him on the special teams front.