Report: Butker to miss several weeks with left knee injury

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - A critical member of the Kansas City Chiefs special teams unit will miss this week’s crucial AFC matchup with the Buffalo Bills.

According to the Chiefs’ injury report, kicker Harrison Butker was limited in practice Thursday due to a left knee injury. His limited designation on Thursday came a day after he failed to practice on Wednesday.

Reports from NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero and ESPN’s Adam Schefter said Butker is expected to miss 3-4 weeks and could be headed to injured reserve with the left knee injury. In a corresponding move, the Chiefs are reportedly g Spencer Shrader off the New York Jets practice squad, Pelissero said.

Shrader made two field goals for the Jets after being elevated to their active roster Sunday in a game against the Arizona Cardinals. He made 68 percent of his career field goal attempts in college in four years at South Florida and a year at Notre Dame.

The #Chiefs are g Spencer Shrader off the #Jets practice squad, per source. https://t.co/6YHfpcJmlJ
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) November 14, 2024

In nine games this season, Butker is 18-for-20 on field goal attempts and 21 of 22 on extra point attempts.

He made a game-winning field goal to help Kansas City beat the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 2. His final play of Sunday’s Week 10 win over the Denver Broncos was a poor kick on a late fourth-quarter kickoff. The ball failed to land in the designated landing zone, allowing the Broncos to start their final drive from the 40-yard line.

Butker’s expected absence will be the first game he’s missed since early in the 2022 season when he missed several games due to an ankle injury suffered in a Week 1 game at Arizona.

Defensive end Charles Omenihu and running back Isiah Pacheco, who were each designated to return from injured reserve this week, were both limited in practice Thursday. Omenihu is continuing his recovery from a torn ACL suffered in January’s AFC Championship Game against the Baltimore Ravens. Pacheco is recovering from a broken fibula suffered in the aforementioned Bengals game.

Kansas City (9-0) will take on Buffalo (8-2) on the road Sunday, Nov. 17 at 3:25 p.m. CT. The game can be seen live on KCTV.