Life of an NFL 'kicker for hire' is not easy. Just look at Chiefs hero Matthew Wright.

Life of an NFL ‘kicker for hire’ is not easy. Just look at Chiefs hero Matthew Wright.

Posted by Admin December 14, 2024 NFL

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(Update: ESPN reported Saturday that the Chiefs plan to release Matthew Wright with Harrison Butker expected to return Sunday against the Cleveland Browns.)

Not exactly a straight shot.

That was surely the case with the 31-yard, walk-off field goal from Matthew Wright that caromed off the upright as time expired on Sunday night at Arrowhead Stadium. It can also be said of the winding journey the emergency kicker took to land in the thick of the drama that resulted in a ninth consecutive AFC West crown for the Kansas City Chiefs.

Wright, 28, has been the quintessential “kicker for hire” for a few years now, aiming to ultimately stick with a steady NFL job but in the meantime taking work when he can get it.

The Chiefs, with Pro Bowl kicker Harrison Butker close to returning from injured reserve after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery, are Wright’s fourth NFL team this calendar year. Since he was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2019 as an undrafted free agent from Central Florida, he’s kicked for eight NFL teams.

And this is Wright’s third stint with the Chiefs, one of the four teams he’s had multiple tours with over the years.

When he got the call just before Thanksgiving, after Butker’s previous replacement, Spencer Shrader, was injured during practice, the Chiefs didn’t even bother having him kick in a workout before signing him. It was a short week, with the Chiefs prepping to face the Las Vegas Raiders.

“When we got the call, they said, ‘Is he ready to go?’ “ Paul Sheehy, Wright’s agent, recalled of the conversation.

“Yes. A hundred percent,” he replied.

“Talk about throwing into the fire. He was in that Black Friday game.”

There was certainly some trust at work. Dave Toub, the Chiefs’ special teams coordinator, said Wright’s familiarity with the team’s operation, including the practice flow, helped in making the quick transition.

“He’s a veteran, too,” Toub said during his weekly press conference on Friday. “It wasn’t like he was a rookie off the street. He was a guy who has done it before in games.

“None bigger than that one,” Toub added of Sunday night. “That was huge right there.”

Wright knows that he can’t get too comfortable with his temp work. The Chiefs opened the 21-day practice window this week to determine Butker’s status. And Butker has progressed to the point that he is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game at Cleveland.

Never mind that Wright was named the AFC’s Special Teams Player of the Week on Wednesday. The award is great for the resume, but not much of a factor for extending his stay with the Chiefs.

“That was big for him,” Toub said. “It’s going to help him down the road. Eventually, Butker’s coming back. We can’t have three kickers. It might help him get a job down the road. He deserves it.”

During his first stint with the Chiefs in 2022, Wright set the franchise record with a 59-yard field goal. Six days later, that mark was topped when Butker nailed a 62-yarder. And Wright moved on to kick four games in 2022 with the Steelers – the team that he also spent last offseason with.

Of course, the lack of security in the NFL is hardly cornered by kickers. Yet unlike backup linebackers or fill-in running backs, when a kicker is signed for an emergency the odds of them becoming thrust into a make-or-break situation are tremendous in a league that is on a record pace for having the most games in a season decided by one possession or less.

Staying ready leads to another level of pressure for emergency kickers. It’s typical to go from kicking alone during workouts on a high school field to a packed stadium with 75,000 screaming fans with the game on the line.

It’s no wonder that as Wright lined up for the game-winning kick last weekend, he said he repeated a simple affirmation to himself: “Relax, relax, relax.”

Said Sheehy: “The toughest part is you’re doing your own workouts most of the time without a full operation, without a live snap and hold, and certainly without a rush. So, you’re really just relying on your muscle memory and your prior experience, to be able to go through all of that and get that timing right. Because, as you know, if you’re off by just a millisecond, it throws the whole thing off. It takes a unique guy to be able to do that.”

The Chiefs know. Not only have the Chiefs (12-1) tied an NFL record by winning 10 consecutive games decided by seven points or less, they are the first team in NFL history to win three games in a season with walk-off field goals by three different kickers, including Butker’s 51-yarder against Cincinnati in Week 2 and Shrader’s 31-yard kick at Carolina in Week 12.

Shrader, incidentally, has kicked for three teams this season, after opening with Indianapolis; he was signed off the New York Jets practice squad. Cincinnati’s fill-in kicker on Monday night, Cade York, was with Washington in Week 1.

There is no shortage of examples in the “kicker for hire” club. Yet Wright certainly has a unique twist. In October, he became the third kicker in as many weeks for the San Francisco 49ers, replacing the injured Anders Carlson, who subbed for the injured Jake Moody.

Wright had a perfect game at Seattle, converting on all three field goal attempts and all three PAT kicks in a 49ers victory. But disaster struck near the end of the game when Wright sprinted across the field during a kickoff return and lowered his shoulder to knock Seahawks returner Dee Williams out of bounds after a 37-yard return.

The collision — er, tackle — led to Wright being placed on injured reserve with a shoulder injury. He’s undoubtedly fully rehabbed now, making good on all four of his field goal attempts, including a 51-yarder in the fourth quarter, on Sunday night.

His vibe is flowing, even if it’s just a temp job, having come through when the Chiefs needed him the most.

“My wife’s super helpful,” Wright said, “just giving me confidence going forward.”

Added Sheehy: “He’s been kind of the hired gun, which is good and bad. At some point a team’s got to recognize him for what he is, a really good kicker in this league, and not just look at him as, ‘Well, we know if our guy goes down, we can bring him in.’ ”

If kicking doesn’t work out, Wright is equipped with a solid Plan B. He’s worked as an aerospace engineer for Lockheed Martin.

Yet with kicking in his DNA, that job isn’t a straight shot, either.

Cowboys star Micah Parsons on teammate’s injury: ‘I really don’t think it’s fair’

Micah Parsons fought back tears on Monday night, contemplating the road ahead for fellow Dallas Cowboys linebacker DeMarvion Overshown. An emerging star, Overshown tore the ACL, MCL and PCL in his right knee during the fourth quarter of the loss to the Bengals.

After Overshown’s rookie year in 2023 was wiped out due to a torn ACL in his left knee, he rebounded to become an undeniable bright spot amid Dallas’ woes this season.

Now it is feared that, given the severity of his injury and the timing of when it occurred, Overshown could miss the entire 2025 season.

Said Parsons: “To understand what he’s going to have to go through … I really don’t think that’s fair.”

A third-round pick from Texas, Overshown impressed with his versatility and big-play presence. In addition to posting 5 sacks, he registered 90 tackles, an interception returned for a touchdown, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

Parsons’ emotional expression during his postgame interview spoke volumes about the respect that Overshown earned in the Cowboys locker room.

Go for it?

Maybe Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell will meet his match during the showdown against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, at least when gambling on fourth down.

Campbell, of course, is the NFL’s most aggressive coach in going for it on fourth down. And in the crucial victory against the Packers in Week 14, the Lions converted four of their five fourth-down tries – including one from Green Bay’s 21-yard line during crunch time, when they could have opted to take the lead with a field goal. Instead, they used a David Montgomery run to move the chains and allow them to chew up the clock before winning with a walk-off field goal.

Now comes Buffalo, which is tied with Washington for the best fourth-down conversion rate this season (86.7%), making good on 13 of 15 attempts. Buffalo’s tally includes the gutsy call from Sean McDermott in Week 11, when Josh Allen bolted for a 26-yard touchdown run in the final two minutes. The result extinguished any hopes Kansas City harbored for a perfect season and snapped the Chiefs’ winning streak at 15, dating to last season.

Some interesting patterns exist when taking a closer look at fourth-down decisions:

— None of the five teams with the most fourth-down attempts – Cleveland (34), Chicago (28), Atlanta (26), Dallas (26), and the New York Giants (26) – has a winning record.

— Of the five teams with the fewest fourth-down attempts – Minnesota (8), Green Bay (10), the Los Angeles Chargers (10), Kansas City (11) and Tampa Bay (11) – all would be in the playoffs if the season ended today.

— None of the teams with the six-worst fourth-down conversion rates – Tennessee (33.3%), Dallas (34.6%), Arizona (36.5%), Carolina (40%), the New York Jets (40%) and Miami (40%) – are occupying a playoff slot.

The Lions, by the way, rank sixth in success rate (68.2%) in converting 15-of-22 fourth downs, and have an NFL-longest 11-game winning streak.

Quick slants

— Joe Burrow can become just the second quarterback in NFL history (Steve Young, 1998) to throw for 300 yards and 3 TDs in five consecutive games if he hits the marks for the Bengals on Sunday at Tennessee.

— Giants rookie receiver Malik Nabers scored three touchdowns in his first three NFL games, but since then he’s gone eight consecutive games without reaching the end zone.

— Justin Herbert’s streak of passes without an interception has hit 335, a big reason why the L.A. Chargers head into Sunday’s game against the Bucs with the fewest turnovers (6) in the NFL. Herbert’s streak is fifth-longest in NFL history, 68 shy of topping the NFL record set by Aaron Rodgers (402) in 2018.

— Jalen Hurts heads into the intrastate clash against the Steelers having not thrown for 200 yards in three consecutive games. It matches the second-longest sub-200 streak in Hurts’ career, after he went five straight games without 200 yards in 2021. The last time Hurts had three games in a row of this sort? It happened in 2022. And Hurts rolled out of that to lead the Eagles to Super Bowl 57. So, with Philly on a 9-game winning streak, maybe the recent sub-200s represent an omen.

Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Jarrett Bell on X, @JarrettBell