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Chiefs coach defends decision to sign kicker Tucker

Q: What is this sports story about?

Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid defends the franchise's decision to sign Justin Tucker to its practice squad, stating the kicker has "done his suspension".

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This story was published by BBC Sport on October 28, 2026 and curated on Africa Front.

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October 28, 2026

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Chiefs coach defends decision to sign kicker Tucker

Published28 October 2026

Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid has defended the decision to sign Justin Tucker to their practice squad, stating the kicker has "done his suspension".

Tucker, one of the most accurate kickers in NFL history, was last year accused of sexual misconduct, external by 16 massage therapists in the Baltimore area during the 2010s.

The 36-year-old - who won Super Bowl 47 with the Baltimore Ravens - has consistently denied the allegations and never faced criminal charges.

Following an investigation, Tucker received a 10-game suspension, external from 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.

Having served the ban last season, Tucker is immediately available for selection.

Reid said in a news conference on Wednesday: "He's done his suspension, taking care of that business there. I'll leave it at that.

"We try to do our homework the best way we possibly can and talk to a lot of people, make sure things are OK."

Pressed on what he meant by "homework", Reid added: "I'm not going to get into all that. To bring him here, I did some homework.

"He's here and he's on the practice squad, so we roll with it."

Tucker, a five-time All-Pro, is second in NFL history in field-goal percentage, making 89.1% of his attempts across 13 seasons, but endured the worst season of his career in 2024, kicking just 73.3% of his field-goal attempts.

The Chiefs made their move for him following a run of poor form by 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 from three in a 20-3 defeat by the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.