After spending nearly a month on the injured reserve list, Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker is returning to the practice field. Butker has been designated to return from IR, according to Matt Derrick of Chiefs Digest.
Butker's return to practice officially marks the beginning of his 21-day practice window, the three-week period that gives returning injured players a ramp-up opportunity before they must be given an active roster spot. While Butker could return sooner, head coach Andy Reid was noncommittal about Butker's status when he was asked about Butker on Wednesday.
"We're going to see how he does here," Reid said before Wednesday's practice. "He'll have a few snaps out there."
Butker was placed on IR on November 14 and had surgery to trim his meniscus in his left knee. Since Butker's exit, the Chiefs' kicking game has relied on two other kickers who managed to do just enough to keep KC's special teams on track.
Undrafted rookie Spencer Shrader was the Chiefs' original acquisition after Butker was placed on IR, but after hitting a game-winning walk-off field goal against the Carolina Panthers, Shrader suffered a hamstring injury that sent him to IR. Matthew Wright returned for his second stint with the Chiefs as KC's third kicker of the year, resulting in two productive games, leading to an AFC Special Teams Player of the Week award for his 4-for-4 performance against the Los Angeles Chargers that was capped off with a doinked-in game-winning walk-off field goal.
Read More: Chiefs Kicker Matthew Wright Named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for Week 14