Chiefs’ Justin Reid said he had no time to prepare before filling in for injured Butker
A quick scan of the Chiefs roster on Monday morning shows Justin Reid listed only as a safety.
That’s Reid’s usual position, of course, and he had four tackles in the Chiefs’ 44-21 win Sunday over the Cardinals in Glendale, Arizona. But Reid also scored a point on an extra point and kicked off seven times.
No one expected to see those stats, but Reid was pressed into duty Sunday when Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker suffered an ankle injury on a kickoff following KC’s first touchdown.
The Chiefs scored again in the first quarter and Reid made an extra point without warming up.
“I just got thrown straight into the fire,” Reid told reporters after the game. “They let me know Butker hurt his ankle and I was up and I was like ‘Okay, lets ride’. I was never short of confidence. I had a lot of fun with it.”
No practice, no problem, as Reid impressed the CBS broadcasters with the kick.
Reid handled the ensuing kickoff and boomed one out of the end zone.
“We may need to talk about putting some incentives in there,” Reid joked with reporters, “but really I had a ton of fun out there. It threw me back to my high school days just being out there and having fun.”
Butker returned in the second quarter and drilled a 54-yard field goal with just a one-step run up to the ball. Reid believes he could have made the long-distance field goal, but he was blown away but the injured Butker.
“Shoot, I’ll tell you what as impressive as I like to say a safety kicking is, how about (Butker) taking one step to kick a 54-yard field goal?” Reid told reporters. “That was unbelievable. I know a thing about kicking but that was absolutely unbelievable for him to be able to step up through that and grind through the pain and take one step to drive it home, but I would’ve made it too. Honestly they made the right decision sending Butker out there.”
Butker’s status for Thursday’s game against the Chargers is unknown. Even if Butker returns, Reid, a former youth soccer player, is thrilled to have shown what he can do with his foot.
“I didn’t keep the ball. I wasn’t worried about that, but I know I got the film,” Reid told reporters. “At this point I’ve always wanted to let people know that I really can kick. It’s out there now and I’m sure that everyone’s seen it so it’s going to be up there forever.”
