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The Kansas City Chiefs are currently ranked 31st in the NFL in effective cap space (the cap space a team will have after signing at least 51 players and its projected rookie class to its roster) with $562,353, according to Over the Cap.
Though a Chris Jones extension is the most effective way to free up a good chunk of cap space at this point of the year, trading away one of their more expensive assets is another effective strategy for the Chiefs if they want to gather more spending money. That’s why Arrowhead Addict’s Jacob Milham believes the defending Super Bowl champions should consider trading kicker Harrison Butker.
“His $5.1 million cap hit is the fifth-highest amongst all NFL kickers, and that begs the question once again: is Butker a top-five or even a top-10 kicker entering the 2023 season? If the Chiefs do not believe he is, they need to evaluate his roster spot thoroughly and bring in some serious camp competition,” Milham wrote on July 29. “Butker needs to prove his worth, and if he is just an average kicker, the Chiefs need to look at offloading him immediately.”
Harrison Butker an All-Time Great Kicker
Harrison Butker, 28, entered the NFL as a seventh-round draft pick of the Carolina Panthers in 2017. He struggled during the summer of his rookie season which is why he was relegated to the practice squad at the start of the 2017 regular season. But his time in Carolina was short-lived, as he was released by the Panthers on September 26 of that year.
The Chiefs signed Butker on the same day he was released by Carolina, and Butker was very productive for Kansas City that season. In 13 regular season games played, Butker made 38-of-42 field goal attempts — 90.5% accuracy — and made 100% of his field goal attempts, according to Pro Football Reference.
Fast forward to 2023, and Butker has now played six seasons for the Chiefs and has an 88.2% career field goal percentage, which ranks fourth-best in NFL history. He has also scored the third-most points in Chiefs history with 763.
Butker is, however, coming off his worst statistical season in the NFL. During the 2022 season, Butker had career lows in field goal percentage (75.0%) and extra point percentage (92.7%). That’s all despite him attempting the fewest amount of field goals and extra points in a single season since entering the NFL (24).
Despite his career-worst efforts last season, Kansas City did not bring in any competition at the kicker position for training camp, which signals that the coaching staff still has a lot of confidence in Butker at the start of the 2023 season.
Should Chiefs Consider Trading Harrison Butker?
Harrison Butker’s $5.1 million cap hit in 2023 ranks 8th-highest on the Chiefs per Over The Cap. Trading him this year would save the defending Super Bowl champions $3.6 million in cap space.
Though trading Butker would be one way for the Chiefs to free up some spending money for in-season moves, trying to replace Butker’s production — even if he’s coming off his worst NFL season — would be a tough task. Butker is still one of the most accurate kickers in NFL history despite having underwhelming production in 2022.
That’s why trading Harrison Butker likely isn’t in the cards for the Chiefs.
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Analyst Urges Chiefs to Consider Trading 6-Year Player & Cap Casualty