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Justin Tucker set to join Chiefs practice squad after year away from NFL

Ravens Wire reports that Kansas City is signing the former Baltimore kicker, while Harrison Butker remains on the active roster.

NewsJaws DeskEditorial desk

Published 28 Oct 2026, 13:27 GMT2 min read

A view of Arrowhead Stadium during a Los Angeles Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs game. — A view of Arrowhead Stadium during the Los Angeles Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs game in 2022. File photograph. Conman33, Chargers at Chiefs - September 15, 2022 - Thursday Night Football on Prime Video (resized and converted to WebP). CC BY-SA 4.0.Image source Image licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

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Justin Tucker is set to join the Kansas City Chiefs’ practice squad, Ravens Wire reported on October 28, citing ESPN’s Adam Schefter and The Kansas City Star’s Sam McDowell. The move would give the former Baltimore Ravens kicker his first NFL opportunity since his release in May 2025, while leaving Harrison Butker on Kansas City’s active roster.

Tucker has not appeared in an NFL regular-season game since the end of the 2024 season. Ravens Wire reported that he worked out for the New York Jets in September, but Kansas City is the first team to sign him since his departure from Baltimore. A practice-squad place does not establish whether he will move to the Chiefs’ active roster or kick in a game.

Why the Chiefs are adding a kicking option

Butker remains on the Chiefs’ 53-man roster. He has made 11 of 16 field-goal attempts through seven games this season, according to Ravens Wire, including one of three in a 20-3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. Tucker’s addition gives Kansas City another kicker to evaluate without immediately replacing Butker, who has helped the team win three Super Bowls.

Tucker’s Ravens record and NFL suspension

Tucker spent 13 seasons with Baltimore and won a Super Bowl with the Ravens following the 2012 season, Heavy reported. He made 417 of 468 field-goal attempts for Baltimore, an 89.1% rate that Ravens Wire said was the best in NFL history when he was released. His final Ravens season was less successful: he made 22 of 30 attempts in 2024, a career-low 73.3%.

Tucker’s 66-yard field goal against the Detroit Lions in 2021 was an NFL record at the time. Jacksonville Jaguars kicker Cam Little surpassed it with a 68-yard kick in 2025, Heavy reported. The record illustrates Tucker’s earlier standing, while his 2024 figures show the performance questions Kansas City faces as it assesses him.

Baltimore released Tucker after allegations of sexual misconduct involving 16 massage therapists at Baltimore-area spas. Tucker has repeatedly denied the allegations. The NFL suspended him for the first 10 weeks of the 2025 season after determining that he violated its personal conduct policy, Ravens Wire reported. He remained unsigned during that season.