The Kansas City Chiefs will officially be without K Harrison Butker on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
According to a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Butker will be ruled out for the Week 16 game due to his vaccination status. Butker was placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list on Monday. He is unvaccinated per Rapoport, which means he’ll spend a mandatory 10 days on the Reserve/COVID-19 list in isolation before he’s allowed to be activated.
Thankfully, the Chiefs had the foresight to sign K Elliott Fry to the practice squad last week. Upon Butker’s placement on the Reserve/COVID-19 list, the team signed Fry to the 53-man roster. That signaled that the team expected to be without Butker, but now we know the exact reason why.
Here’s some history on Fry from our article about him being signed to the 53-man roster:
“Fry most recently spent time with the Atlanta Falcons also as COVID-19 insurance, but he got his professional football start with Alliance of American Football league, playing for the Orlando Apollos, going a perfect 14-for-14 when he was with the now-defunct league. Since 2019, Fry has made stops with the Chicago Bears, Baltimore Ravens, Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but he only first appeared in a professional game in 2020 with the Falcons. He attempted a single 23-yard field goal, which he made, while also going 1-for-2 on extra points.”
Even with a solid replacement in Fry, the Chiefs will miss Butker this week. He’s 22-for-25 on field goals this season and 41-for-43 on extra points. He’s been most impressive at distance on field goals this season, breaking the franchise record for most 50-yard field goals in a single season.
