KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Harrison Butker is back after undergoing knee surgery and missing the last four Kansas City Chiefs games.
Butker reportedly had a procedure to trim the meniscus in his left knee and landed on injured reserve for games at Buffalo and Carolina as well as home games against Las Vegas and the Los Angeles Chargers.
But he will kick for the Chiefs, who kick off at noon against the Cleveland Browns at Huntington Bank Field.
His replacement, Spencer Shrader, kicked a game-winning field goal as time expired against the Panthers, and Shrader’s replacement, Matthew Wright, clanged home the game-winner off the left upright last Sunday to beat the Chargers.
Wright, who also kicked for Kansas City in 2022, stepped in when Shrader suffered a hamstring injury.
But now, Butker is back. He’s 18 of 20 on field goals this season, going perfect inside 50 yards, and has converted 21 of 22 extra points.
Officially, Butker was listed as questionable on the final injury report, but Kansas City sent a strong signal about his availability Saturday, returning him from injured reserve and waiving Wright.
Butker’s 89.2% career field-goal percentage is the highest in NFL history, according to Pro Football Reference.
Left tackle D.J. Humphries, who signed with the Chiefs late last month, left the win against the Chargers with a hamstring injury. He was listed as doubtful and is inactive as expected along with defensive ends Joshua Uche and Malik Herring, running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, guard C.J. Hanson, tackle Ethan Driskell, and defensive tackle Marlon Tuipulotu.
Cleveland listed five players — guard Joel Bitonio (back), defensive end Mike Hall Jr. (knee), defensive back Myles Harden (tibia), linebacker Khaleke Hudson (abdomen) and tight end David Njoku (hamstring) — as questionable.
Everyone except Njoku is active, but that’s a big loss for the Browns against a Chiefs defense that struggles to defend top tight ends.
Wide receiver Cedric Tillman (concussion), who already had been ruled out, is also inactive for Cleveland along with kicker Dustin Hopkins, running back D’Onta Foreman, cornerback Chigozie Anusiem and defensive end James Houston.
Quarterback Bailey Zappe is inactive, but he’s the emergency QB.
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