Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid defended the decision to sign Justin Tucker to their practice squad, saying the kicker had “served his suspension.”
Tucker, one of the most accurate kickers in NFL history, was accused last year of sexual misconduct, external by 16 massage therapists in the Baltimore area in the 2010s.
The 36-year-old – who won Super Bowl XLVII with the Baltimore Ravens – has always denied the allegations and has never faced criminal charges.
Following an investigation, Tucker was suspended for 10 games., external of the NFL for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.
He was released by Baltimore in May 2025 in what they described as a “football decision” following declining form.
After serving the ban last season, Tucker is immediately available for selection.
Reid said at a news conference Wednesday: “He finished his suspension and took care of that matter over there. I’ll leave it at that.
“We try to do our homework the best way possible and talk to a lot of people to make sure everything is okay.”
Pressed on what he meant by “homework,” Reid added: “I’m not going to get into all that. To get it here, I did some homework.
“He’s here and he’s on the practice squad, so we’re rolling with it.”
Tucker, a five-time All-Pro, is second in NFL history in field goal percentage, making 89.1% of his attempts over 13 seasons, but had the worst season of his career in 2024, hitting just 73.3% of his field goal attempts.
The Chiefs made their pick following poor form from Harrison Butker, who has been the team’s kicker since 2017 and has the fifth-best accuracy (87.3%) in NFL history.
However, the 31-year-old has missed five of his 16 field goal attempts this season, including two of three in a 20-3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday.
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