Mahomes was asked on Wednesday whether there was any awkwardness about welcoming a long-time AFC rival into the locker room. His answer closed the door on the idea.

“We haven’t had a lot of conversations because he’s obviously on the Ravens and I was on the Chiefs,” the quarterback told reporters, before adding that “it wasn’t like we ever had any beef or anything like that.”

Mahomes framed the pair’s past exchanges as the standard friction of two players meeting in high-stakes games, telling The Comeback that “at that moment it was just competitors being competitors” and that there was “nothing hostile” about the move.

A measured endorsement, not a push

The quarterback stopped short of selling the signing as his own idea, instead crediting general manager Brett Veach and the front office for bringing in good players and saying he was focused on this week’s game against Denver.

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The Chiefs signed Tucker to the practice squad on Wednesday after working out three kickers at the position, the NFL confirmed, with former Rams kicker Harrison Mevis also among those auditioning.

The suspension that paused Tucker’s career

Tucker, 36, had not kicked in an NFL regular-season game since the 2024 season. The Ravens released him after 13 seasons in May 2025 following an investigation into allegations from 16 massage therapists at eight Baltimore-area spas, covering behavior said to have occurred between 2012 and 2016.

The NFL suspended him for the first 10 games of the 2025 season under the league’s personal conduct policy. He served the ban as a free agent and became eligible for reinstatement in November 2025. Tucker has denied the allegations and was never charged criminally or sued in civil court.

Head coach Andy Reid acknowledged the circumstances but drew a line under them.

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“He’s done his suspension. Took care of that business there,” Reid said on Wednesday, adding that the club had done extensive due diligence and spoken to multiple people before making the decision.

Butker still the starter, for now

Harrison Butker remains on the 53-man roster and will take the field in Denver. Reid confirmed Butker would get most of the first-team reps in practice this week against the Broncos, even as the incumbent has missed five field goals and an extra point so far this season, including two misses in Sunday’s 20-3 defeat to Seattle.

Reid was unambiguous about his regard for the player he currently has.

“Listen, we love Harrison. I’ve told you before, he’s one of my favorite guys,” he said.

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Tucker’s career resume is harder to ignore. He is the second-most accurate kicker in NFL history at 89.1% on field goal attempts, with seven Pro Bowl selections and five first-team All-Pro nods, though his 2024 numbers slipped sharply to 22-of-30.

The Chiefs face the Broncos on Sunday at Empower Field at Mile High.

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