Arrowhead Pride
Harrison Butker heads to injured reserve after successful surgery on Friday.
Late Thursday afternoon, the Kansas City Chiefs added Harrison Butker to their injury report due to a meniscus injury in his left knee. On Friday, head coach Andy Reid spoke about the injury in his final press conference before Kansas City heads to Buffalo to play the Bills in their Week 11 matchup.
“As far as the injuries go, Butker is the main one out there,” said Reid. “He did this in practice — tried it on Thursday and tried to warm up and get going, and then [he] wasn’t able to do it. Then we took care of that, then it was confirmed what it was.”
“He ended up having surgery [Friday] morning. Surgery was successful. We’ll just see how it all goes, time-wise. I mean, I can’t tell you time-wise.”
Reid continued, describing their contingency plan.
“Within that, we brought in Spencer Shrader to come in and do the kicking,” added the head coach. “He’s a young guy, so his résumé isn’t long. But the ones he’s had, he’s done a nice job with — and Veach felt comfortable with that, along with (special teams coordinator) Dave Toub. We invite him in, and he can do the kicking going forward until [Butker] is able to return.”
A 2024 undrafted free agent, Shrader signed with the Indianapolis Colts, appearing in their Week 1 game after an injury to starting kicker Matt Gay. He made all three of his extra points.
The Colts released Shrader in mid-October. He landed with the New York Jets two weeks later. As a practice squad elevation for the Jets in Week 10, Shrader made both his field goals (a 25-yarder and a 45-yarder).
“He’s got a very strong leg, and he’s done well,” said Reid. “They used him, obviously, elevated him at the Jets. So they had a couple of kickers there, and obviously, they favored him.”
Shrader was not available to speak to media members on Friday. However, his holder, Chiefs punter Matt Araiza, seemed confident in the work that he, long snapper James Winchester and Shrader were able to get in over the past 24 hours.
Araiza said Toub guided them in terms of their process, identifying everything that will make Shrader as comfortable as possible.
“For me and James, it’s the same thing — he’s great and he’s consistent,” said Araiza. “That makes my job really easy. Harrison changes the way the ball is held in different conditions. So throughout the year, I’m used to changing that, so if anyone new comes in, I’m used to everything, to be honest with you.”
While Kansas City stands at 9-0, it’s worth noting that seven of the nine wins have come in one-score games. Butker — having made 18 of 20 field goals and all but one extra point — is relied upon as one of the best kickers in the NFL.
“[Butker’s] done phenomenal,” added Reid. “He’s a great kicker. I...
