Former Kansas City Chiefs WR Breaks Ranks With Andy Reid Over Harrison Butker Decision

A win over the New York Jets should have given the Kansas City Chiefs plenty to celebrate, but Harrison Butker's struggles continued to take attention away from the result. His missed kicks at Arrowhead Stadium brought boos from the home crowd, and head coach Andy Reid faced questions about whether he would make a change at kicker. Reid chose to give his longtime player another chance ahead of the Atlanta Falcons game. However, that decision did not find support from everyone in Kansas City.

Gehrig Dieter shares honest take on Andy Reid's decision

Former Chiefs wide receiver Gehrig Dieter was among those who questioned Reid's call. Reacting to the coach's decision on X,

Dieter wrote, "First time I've ever disagreed with Big Red."

First time I've ever disagreed with Big Red

— Gehrig Dieter (@GehrigDieter) November 11, 2026

The Chiefs coach had avoided making a commitment after the Jets game, saying he wanted to review the situation before deciding.

On Wednesday, however, Reid made his choice. "I'm going to stick with Butker," he said. "We'll go from there."

The coach backed that decision by pointing to the kicker's work over the years in Kansas City. Butker had helped the franchise win three Super Bowls in a five-year stretch, delivering several important kicks along the way.

"Harrison has done such a great job for us over time here," Reid said. "Sometimes you go through these little peaks-and-valleys things. I've got to give him a chance to work through them, and we'll see how things go. We'll just take it week by week."

Harrison Butker faced another tough afternoon against the Jets

The frustration at Arrowhead Stadium had built up during the first half against the New York Jets. With seven seconds left before the break, Butker missed a 56-yard field goal. A five-yard penalty against Malik McClain gave him another attempt from 51 yards, but he missed again, sending the ball wide right.

Kansas City eventually won 35-12, but the kicker's performance remained a sore point. Butker admitted that he understood the crowd's reaction after the game.

"I'm booing myself sometimes," he said, adding that he knew he had to be better.

His season numbers made the Chiefs' decision harder to understand. Butker had converted just 12 of 19 field goal attempts, giving him a 63.2% success rate. He had missed seven field goals, the most in the NFL.

Justin Tucker remained on Kansas City's practice squad after joining the team in October. The five-time All-Pro had not played in an NFL game since 2024 and had served a 10-game suspension in 2025 under the league's personal conduct policy.

Special teams coordinator Dave Toub had previously said the coaching staff wanted to correct Butker's technique and not give up on him.