The new rule change to kickoffs in the NFL for the 2024-25 season will significantly alter the game for fans at home and prompt teams to adjust their kickoff strategies.
One such team, the Kansas City Chiefs, is reevaluating the role of their longtime placekicker, Harrison Butker.
Butker has had a notable offseason, largely due to the controversy surrounding his commencement speech at Benedictine College, a Catholic college in Kansas, where he referred to LGBTQ Pride Month as a “month of sin” and made some eyebrow-raising comments about the roles of women in society.
Despite the backlash, the Chiefs have decided to retain Butker on the team.
However, his role might see a shift—not due to his speech, but because of the changes to NFL kickoffs.
Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub has discussed the potential of using safety Justin Reid as the team’s kickoff specialist.
Reid has prior experience kicking for the team and Toub seems quite confident in this strategy.
“I’d like to have somebody that is able to make a tackle,” said Toub. “Butker is able to make a tackle, but I really don’t want him making tackles all year long. We watched every play of the XFL and kickers were involved in probably at least 25 to 40 percent of the tackles. We don’t want Butker in that situation, but he will be our kicker.”
“Justin (Reid) can kick and cover. He can go down there and make tackles. He’s an extra guy they have to worry about to go down there and tackle. They know he’s a guy they have to block.”
This strategic move could inspire other NFL teams to consider more athletic players for the role of kickoff specialists.
For now, it appears Harrison Butker will focus solely on field goal duties moving forward, allowing the Chiefs to leverage Reid’s versatility on special teams.
Reid has some experience kicking while Butker has been out due to injury.
In 2022, he kicked off 7 times and attempted to extra points, converting on one of them.
