Getty Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker at State Farm Stadium on February 12, 2023.
The Kansas City Chiefs are working out the best way to adjust to the league’s new kickoff rules. To better protect kicker Harrison Butker, the Chiefs are seriously considering having safety Justin Reid handle kickoffs.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, May 30, Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub’s remarks on the possible plan raised some eyebrows.
“I like to have somebody that can go back and is able to make a tackle,” Toub said. “Butker is able to make a tackle but I really don’t want him making tackles all year long. If you watch the XFL, we watched every play.
“I bet kickers were involved in probably at least 25 to 40% of the tackles. Either trying to make a guy bounce back or making the tackle itself or just missing the tackle. We don’t want Butker in that situation.”
“[Butker] will be a kicker. He’ll be a guy that we will use in certain situations. He’s got a lot of ability to move the ball, you know, whereas those other guys may not be as apt to doing that. And we’ll use them. He can still kick a touchback if we need it.”
Toub sees Reid, the Chiefs’ $31 million safety, being a huge problem for opponents. “Justin can cover. I mean, he could kick, he can, and then he can go down there and make tackles,” Toub said.
“He’s an extra guy that they’re probably not accounting for. I mean, they know that that guy can go down to tackle, but a guy like Justin is a guy that they have to worry about. You have to get him blocked and you have to give up blocking somebody else. So, that’s the whole thought of that.”
Fans & Analysts Strongly Reacted to Chiefs Coordinator Dave Toub’s New Plan for Kicker Harrison Butker
NEWS: #Chiefs‘ special teams coordinator Dave Toub noted that after observing XFL kickers involved in 25-40% of tackles, they had Justin Reid and Louis Rees-Zammit practicing kickoffs.
They want to protect Harrison Butker from any physical contact and have another tackler
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Utilizing someone like Reid, a non-kicker who can kick in certain situations, is a rarity that may become the norm. Not only do the Chiefs have Reid as a possible kicker, they also have former Rugby star turned running back Louis Rees-Zammit as an option.
The 33rd Team’s Ari Meirov posted, “The NFL’s new kickoff rule essentially positions the kicker as the last line of defense on returns if the returner gets past the initial wall. Not wanting your kicker in that situation, especially when you need him for field goals, adds another fascinating dynamic.”
Under the NFL’s new kickoff rules, having a kicker who can tackle can be a huge advantage in certain situations. Any ball kicked into the “landing zone” from the goal line to the 20-yard line must be returned. Balls that bounce from the landing zone into the end zone must either be returned or downed for a touchback. Eliminating fair catches in these situation will create a lot more action.
Arrowhead Pride’s Pete Sweeney, who observed the Chiefs organized team activities on Thursday, saw both Reid and Rees-Zammit in action. “The #Chiefs are serious about having Justin Reid or Louis Rees-Zammit kick off (they were working there today),” Sweeney posted.
Several fans couldn’t help but comment on the team not feeling confident in Butker’s ability to tackle following his call for men to lean into their masculinity in his viral graduation speech. One man responded, “I feel like a super masculine manly man would want to make tackles, right?”
However, other fans supported the need to keep Butker away from tackling. Another man wrote, “This isn’t hard. Butker is one of the best kickers in NFL playoff history, and the Chiefs don’t win SB LVIII without him, but he’s slow (4.9 40) and doesn’t tackle much. Reid is fast (4.4 40) and is a great tackler.”
Chiefs News: Dave Toub Called the Change on Special Teams ‘Huge’
The NFL’s new kickoff rules don’t just apply to the kicker, but also to players returning the kick. “Gone are the days of one unquestioned returner or kickoff specialist entering the preseason, at least for the reigning champs,” SI’s Jordan Foote wrote. “As Toub weighs his options, he understands the gravity of Kansas City’s final rotation.”
“This is huge,” Toub told reporters. “It’s going to create jobs for returners. It’s going to be important for everybody to figure that out, they’re all figuring that out now. Kickers, cover guys, it’s going to be that much more important.
“Here’s an example: Last year, there were 1,970 touchbacks throughout the league through a 17-game season. Now, we think there’s going to be 1,600 more actual football plays. That’s a lot of football, and it’s going to be exciting for the fans and the players, they’re excited about it too.”