Harrison Butker has been at the center of a storm in recent weeks due to his incendiary statements. Now, a new challenge threatens the Kansas City Chiefs’ controversial kicker that could make him lose his position on the team, said star tight end Travis Kelce.
Butker unleashed an unexpected firestorm over his misogynistic and discriminatory remarks during his commencement speech. The controversy forced the team and some of his teammates to distance themselves from the player and his statements.
At that time, the Chiefs’ kicker managed to keep his job despite internal and external pressure. Now, however, Kelce announced that Butker could be relegated from his duties, although for completely different reasons.
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The new kickoff rules
In a segment on the New Heights podcast, which Travis co-hosts with his brother Jason Kelce, the Chiefs’ tight end explained that the new kickoff rule requires a new type of kicker. According to Kelce, it won’t be enough for kickers to have a cannon of a leg; they will also have to be good tacklers.
“The Chiefs have considered not using Harrison Butker for all kickoffs,” Kelce observerd. “Obviously, it’s not because Harrison can’t do it. He’s one of the best guys in the league at doing it; he’s got the best leg in the game. He typically kicks it into the stands, through the end zone when he does kick off,” he said.
The new rules established a series of changes to give greater relevance to the kickoff– which had become a ball delivery ceremony-while protecting the integrity of the players.
The changes favor kick returners, increasing the chance that the kicker will have to stop the runner. That’s where a little-known member of the Chiefs would come in, safety Justin Reid, who also has the physicality and skill to stop a running back.
Justin will replace Butker
In Kelce’s opinion, head coach Andy Reid would be considering relegating Butker a bit to give Justin Reid more work. “I think he’s considering this because we have a guy, Justin Reid, who’s kicked a field goal before. He has a great leg and he just happens to be one of our best tacklers on the team. So, I think he’s considering letting Justin Reid do it,” Kelce said.
Butker, who came to the NFL in 2017, picked in the draft by the Kansas City Chiefs, has made 627 kickoffs with 444 touchbacks. As Kelce stated, Reid has only kicked a couple of times; however, the fact that the team is considering using him as a kicker instead of Butker says a lot about where the team stands on their controversial kicker.
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