Chiefs' Harrison Butker: Won't be available Week 16

Butker (illness) won't be activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list ahead of the Chiefs' Week 16 game against the Steelers after he tested positive for the virus Monday, Pete Sweeney of ArrowheadPride.com reports.

Though vaccinated players that test positive for the virus are eligible to be removed from the NFL's COVID-19 protocol in as little as one day if asymptomatic, unvaccinated players that test positive are subject to automatic 10-day quarantines. While head coach Andy Reid hasn't officially ruled Butker out, Sweeney's report confirms that the kicker is following the protocol for unvaccinated players, making him ineligible to play Sunday. The Chiefs already telegraphed that Butker won't be available Week 16 when they signed kicker Elliott Fry off their practice squad Monday, a transaction that would normally be made at the end of the week. Assuming Butker is feeling healthy by the time his 10-day quarantine ends, he should reclaim kicking duties Week 17 in Cincinnati on Jan. 2.