Sunday’s Week 1 matchup with the Arizona Cardinals was an eventful afternoon for safety Justin Reid, and it had little to do with anything in the defensive backfield.
Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker rolled his left ankle during the kickoff following Kansas City’s first touchdown, and he was initially unable to continue. That left the Chiefs looking towards their emergency kicker … none other than Justin Reid.
Now, Reid has a huge leg. He played soccer competitively growing up, and he nailed a 65-yard field goal in practice. But it seemed like even Patrick Mahomes wasn’t quite prepared for how good Reid would be at kicking in actual game situations.
Need me to do kickoff too? Bet. pic.twitter.com/wUUl4B9pCF
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) September 12, 2022
On Monday, the Chiefs posted mic’d-up footage from Reid’s emergency kicking experience. It included him coordinating a handshake for made field goals with punter Thomas Townsend. But the best part may have been Mahomes absolutely shocked reaction to seeing Reid crush his kickoff out of the end zone for a touchback.
Filling in for the injured kicker, Justin Reid follows up his extra point with a BOOMING kickoff 🔥 @justinqreid
📺: #KCvsAZ on CBS
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/SO6ObDqAc2 pic.twitter.com/Hk9yJTVvcP— NFL (@NFL) September 11, 2022
I mean, what a kick.
Mahomes could be heard saying in the video:
“Damn, he’s kicking the heck out of the ball. Bro, he kicked that thing through the uprights. J-Reid is kicking, and he kicked it through the uprights!”
Butker eventually returned to take over place-kicking duties, but Reid put forth a solid effort with that touchback and going 1 for 2 on PATs. NFL fans particularly enjoyed that video from the Chiefs.
This was how Twitter reacted
#LetJReidKick as many times as possible, it rules https://t.co/fAtE6QTNET
— Stanford Cardinal (@GoStanford) September 13, 2022
Awesome Mic'd Up video of the coolest emergency kicker situation I've seen in the NFL https://t.co/Rm42hH8xkt
— Pat Rynard (@patrynard) September 13, 2022
Never thought i'd get goosebumps from a kicking situation lol https://t.co/oGTTfWU7V5
— Schnee (@THECodySchnee) September 13, 2022
when i say i am *obsessed* with this storyline https://t.co/TTjBEmwoyd
— Alyssa Hertel (@AlyssaHertel) September 13, 2022
THE BEST CONTENT https://t.co/lvEEyaSDpU
— ᶜᵃˢᵗᵉʳ ˢʰᵉˡˡ (@castergunx) September 13, 2022
The universe ensured that Justin was mic'd up for one of the greatest acts of versatility we've seen in a long time.
(Also love the emphasis on getting the post-kick handshake down 😂) https://t.co/HnjuuqyCJZ
— Matt McMullen (@KCChiefs_Matt) September 13, 2022
“J-Reid is kicking, and he kicked it through the uprights!” https://t.co/9DByeH6nn5
— KC Sports Network (@KCSportsNetwork) September 13, 2022
The second I can add @JustinqReid in my fantasy league I’m dropping my kicker. Bet. https://t.co/XRkyFZQAa0
— Go Mighty Card (@GoMightyCard) September 13, 2022
“Want me to just send it out the end zone?”
Oh ok. https://t.co/ANTqw4Fr4Y
— David Jonas (@CarryTheWheel) September 13, 2022
The Chiefs did sign Matt Ammendola this week in case Butker can’t go on Thursday night. But at the very least, they should let Reid handle kickoffs. Dude can kick!
