By Week 4’s end, the Chiefs will have used four kickers. Harrison Butker will miss a third straight game, and the team announced that Matthew Wright will be bumped up to its 53-man roster.
After working out both Wright and Michael Badgley this week, the Chiefs decided on Wright to replace Matt Ammendola on their practice squad. The team released Ammendola from its taxi squad earlier this week. The second-year specialist missed a short field goal and an extra point in Kansas City’s Week 3 loss in Indianapolis.
The Chiefs will have gone from Butker to emergency replacement Justin Reid to Ammendola to Wright during their season’s first quarter. Butker suffered a left ankle injury early in the Chiefs’ Week 1 game and has not returned to action. Butker remains on the Chiefs’ active roster.
This will mark another chance for Wright, whom the Jaguars waived in May. Wright spent the bulk of last season as Jacksonville’s kicker. Wright’s two 50-plus-yarders in the fourth quarter of their 2021 London game gave the Jags their first win last season, and the Central Florida alum finished the year 21-of-24 on field-goal tries and 13-of-15 on extra points. Wright’s first crack with the Chiefs will come in Florida as well; the NFL kept Sunday night’s Chiefs-Buccaneers matchup in Tampa despite Hurricane Ian’s landfall.
Like Ammendola, Wright will revert to the Chiefs’ P-squad after his Week 4 work. For the time being, the team can elevate Wright to its active roster and demote him without exposing him to waivers. This setup should be workable for the Chiefs, unless Butker’s rehab hits a snag. The team’s sixth-year kicker managed a limited practice Wednesday but sat out Thursday's and Friday’s sessions. The Chiefs saw Ammendola’s struggles prove costly against the Colts; Raiders and Bills matchups are on tap for the Chiefs after their Tampa trip.
More must-reads: