Kansas City Chiefs K Harrison Butker will miss his second consecutive practice of the week on Friday. Things are shaping up for another week of Matthew Wright as Butker continues to nurse an ankle sprain suffered on a kickoff in Week 1.
Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub spoke about the injury to his kicker on Friday. He explained that the injury was worse than they initially believed and they’re working to get Butker back to 100% before he makes his return.
“He tried to go (last week), but he was working on one-step (kicks), but he wants to have his full approach,” Toub told reporters. “He doesn’t want to use a half approach and I don’t blame him. He still has a lot of pain and he’s got swelling in that ankle. It was, evidently, a little bit worse than what you think. I mean, everybody heals differently and it’s just going to take time to get him back. Obviously, we want a full 100% Butker. Like I said before, we’ve got a long season to go, so we’ll be happy when he’s 100%. We don’t want to try to force him back and then all of the sudden get some regression. We definitely don’t want that. He has a lot of weeks in the bank healing and we’ve just got to get him over the top now.”
Having a backup like Wright, who made all of his seven kicks in Week 4, has Toub feeling comfortable in his decision to not rush Butker back. They want to ensure that Butker is available for the long haul.
“It does, it helps,” Toub said. “We’re not out looking for a kicker right now like we did last week. We like (Matthew Wright) and we like the job he did last week. Now, you’ve got to put it together and do it again. It’s about consistency.”
Toub was impressed with what Wright was able to do with the quick turnaround on a big primetime stage.
“Yeah, we had a little bit more time to work with (Matthew Wright) than we had the first time around with (Matt Ammendola),” Toub said. “I was really pleased with the way he’s handled it. He’s got a really good mental aspect, I mean that’s what you find out. He kicked well in practice and stuff, but in the game being able to make seven (combined field goals and extra points). . . that was big on a ‘Sunday Night Football’ game.”
It seems the mental aspect is the biggest thing giving Toub confidence in Wright.
“Mental toughness is such a big thing for a kicker, it’s like a golfer making a short putt,” Toub said. “All of a sudden it becomes huge, you know, and he just did a good job in that game for us.”
They’ll look for a repeat performance from Wright against the Raiders on Monday night.
