Kansas City Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub is optimistic that Harrison Butker could make his return to action against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 4.
Butker participated in practice in a limited capacity on Wednesday, but he won’t be practicing on Thursday. That isn’t because of any setback according to Toub, but it’s maintenance so they can ensure he’s ready to play on Sunday night.
“He had a real good one yesterday,” Toub said. “He came out and he kicked and then the other kid did well too. We’ve just got to wait and see. He’s a little sore today, so we’re not going to kick him today. We’re trying to get him ready for the game, so he’s going to listen to the trainers and whatever they say we’re going to do it. It’s going to come right down to the end when we have to make that decision on who is going to be up and who is going to be down.”
While Toub’s comments would suggest that Butker will be a game-time decision, his optimism level hasn’t changed in the slightest. He knows that the soreness that Butker is experiencing is normal after having not kicked and done this type of work since Week 1.
“I’m not less optimistic, no,” Toub said. “He hasn’t done anything as far as kicking, as much kicking as we did yesterday, for a whole while now. That’s why he’s sore. It’s not unusual for him to be sore from the workout we did yesterday.”
Ultimately, the Chiefs will need some more information before they make their final decision on Butker for Week 4.
“Feedback from (Harrison) Butker,” Toub said. “We might kick him again before Sunday. We’ll test him again, but the other kid is doing well.”
Toub spoke about how they came to sign Matthew Wright to the practice squad and why they feel comfortable with him if Butker were to need another week.
“Well, we brought two guys in to work out and he was the one that was better,” Toub explained. “None of the two that we brought in were among the other six that we brought in two weeks before. These are different players that have more game experience. Matt did a real good job in his workout and he had a great (practice) yesterday (Wednesday).
Expect Matthew Wright to be a practice squad elevation given that the decision to make Butker active will come down to the wire.
