One day after the Kansas City Chiefs placed kicker Harrison Butker on injured reserve, Butker posted a message on social media about his surgery.
“Surgery went great! Thank you for the prayers,” Butker wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on November 15.
Butker underwent surgery to trim the meniscus in his left knee, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Media.
Kansas City’s kicker was a full participant in practice on Wednesday but was downgraded to limited on Thursday before the news broke that he would be placed on IR. Since Butker will miss at least the next four games as a result of being placed on IR, the Chiefs signed Spencer Shrader off of the New York Jets practice squad on November 15.
What Matt Nagy Has Learned About DeAndre Hopkins
It’s been a little over three weeks since the two-time defending Super Bowl champions traded for veteran receiver DeAndre Hopkins.
Having now spent several weeks with Hopkins, Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy was asked during his November 14 presser what he has learned about Hopkins during his short stint with the team.
“Probably the biggest thing is his willingness to just come into this building and want to almost — not start over but there is a little bit of that with the mental side of it of what we do and then how we also kind of tie in what he has done well and merge it together,” Nagy explained. “Then, there’s a trust factor, too. You saw it a few games ago where Pat (Mahomes) had to throw down the middle [and] he made a great catch. The more of those types of throws that we have, the trust level goes up. Then, I think also, him communicating to us what he does well — he probably feels more comfortable doing that the longer he’s here and us explaining to him how we do things as well within the scheme, and then you just kind of work those two together.”
DeAndre Hopkins Has Made Quick Impact in KC
In three games with the Chiefs, Hopkins has recorded 14 receptions on 17 targets for 171 yards and two touchdowns. He’s averaging seven targets and six catches over the last two games, which is impressive when considering that he joined Kansas City less than a month ago.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid explained why he thinks Hopkins was able to make an impact so quickly within Kansas City’s offense.
“He’s always been a great player, and this offense gives him opportunities — his style of player and the quarterback trust him,” Reid said during his press conference on November 13. “What he is, is what you saw on Sunday with the one catch on the crossing route. [He’s] dirty tough, lands on the football, was able to get up – shows no sign of weakness on that and wants to get back in and go and that’s been him. Tough catch, contested ball, lands on it, hard and gets back in and plays and wants more.”
The next time Hopkins will continue to build on-field chemistry with Mahomes is in Week 11 when the Chiefs face the Buffalo Bills. That game will be played on Sunday, November 17 at 3:25 p.m. Central Time and will be available to watch on CBS.
