Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy defends signing of Justin Tucker, suspended after sexual misconduct allegations

Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid offered only a brief explanation Wednesday when asked why the team was comfortable signing kicker Justin Tucker, who has not played in the NFL since 2024 after a series of sexual misconduct allegations.

“He finished his suspension. He took care of his business there. I’ll leave it at that,” Reid said when asked what message Tucker’s signing sent to female fans.

When asked about the team’s level of involvement in the signing, Reid added: “We’re trying to do our homework the best way possible, talk to a lot of people and make sure everything’s OK.”

The Chiefs signed Tucker, 37, to their practice squad on Wednesday. Kansas City was looking for competition at kicker due to the poor performance of starting kicker Harrison Butker, who has missed five of his 16 field goal attempts so far this season.

Tucker last played for the Baltimore Ravens during the 2024 season. In January 2025, The Baltimore Banner reported testimonies from six women who accused Tucker of nonconsensual sexual behavior during massage therapy sessions between 2012 and 2016, including that he exposed his genitals and brushed women with his exposed penis. The following month, 10 other massage therapists made additional accusations against Tucker.

The kicker denied all allegations at the time, initially describing them as “unequivocally false.”

“I maintain that I have not acted inappropriately at any time before, during or after a professional body treatment session, nor have I ever been told that I was not welcome by a massage therapy provider. These statements are simply false,” Tucker said in a statement in February 2025. “It devastates me to know that anyone I worked with would not have felt respected and valued as a professional, but more importantly as a person, and for anyone who felt otherwise, I’m sorry,” Tucker added.

The NFL suspended Tucker for the first 10 weeks of the 2025 NFL season following an investigation into the accusations, but he remained unsigned for the entire season. Earlier this year, Tucker worked out with the Miami Dolphins, according to NFL reporter Aaron Wilson.

Asked about his decision-making process regarding signing a player such as Tucker, Reid said: “I’m trying to do my homework, see exactly what’s happened since then. He served a suspension, it took a while. That’s how I rate him.”

When asked what kind of homework he did on Tucker, Reid said, “I’m not going to get into all that.” »

Reporters also asked Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes about the signing Wednesday, and he expressed confidence in the team’s front office.

“We added and removed a lot of people,” Mahomes said, according to ESPN. “I try not to get too high or too low on anything. I know (general manager Brett) Veach (and the front office) do a great job of attracting great players. But for me, it was about the Denver Broncos, moving on and continuing to get better.”

Tucker is second all-time in the NFL in field goal percentage. He struggled in his final season with the Ravens, however, converting a career-worst 73.3% of his field goals.