Here's an Update on Kansas City Chiefs Kicker Harrison Butker's Sidelining Injury

NFL Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker once made headlines for delivering a jaw-dropping speech during commencement May 2024 at Benedictine College, a women's liberal arts college in Kansas. Peppered throughout the speech were anti-gay, racist, and sexist comments that suggested women should give up their careers to be homemakers, among other things.

However, despite raising more than a few eyebrows and receiving some online backlash, Harrison's career with the Chiefs hasn't ground to a halt. That is, until mid-November 2024, when he sustained an injury that had him watching from the bench. Here's what we know about Harrison's injury and when he will return to the field with his team.

Harrison was first placed on Injured Reserve (IR) after the Kansas City Chiefs' Week 11 game against the Buffalo Bills. The Chiefs lost to the Bills 21-30 and lost Harrison in the process. He sustained a leg injury, which sent him to the sidelines. He later underwent surgery to trim his meniscus.

Leg injuries can be particularly devastating for kickers, who are often leaner than their teammates. Their legs are particularly vulnerable during kicks for points, and there's nothing that will make a stadium full of fans cringe harder than watching a kicker get taken out at the legs. Well, aside from a helmet-to-helmet impact, that is.

Luckily Harrison's injury isn't quite that serious, but they always take healing times seriously for players to begin with, and kickers with leg injuries perhaps doubly so. The question about when Harrison will be sound enough to return to the game has been lingering on the minds of Chiefs fans, and his rivals, as he recuperates.

By December 2024, there were still a few questions about Harrison's return to the game. On Dec 4, 2024, Chiefs coach Andy Reid said that Harrison was on track to be returning for the Week 15 game, but there was still a measure of uncertainty about whether he would be sound enough to play.

Andy explained that they would just have to monitor the kicker and see how he did over the next week or two as to whether he had recovered sufficiently to take to the field again (excerpt via A to Z Sports' Charles Goldman).

Once the team designates him as eligible to return from IR, they have 21 days to get him back in the game. Which means that they may simply let him run the clock down and keep him off the field until the last possible day for a post-season run, and he may not return for nearly a month more.

Harrison's return may not be set in stone yet, but his teammates are almost certainly eager to see him back on his feet. Although kickers spend less time on the field than the rest of the team, they can make or break a run for points and can turn the tide in a game one way or the other. For Harrison, getting back on the field won't be half as sweet as doing so at 100 percent.