Report: Chiefs signing kicker Matt Ammendola to their practice squad

The Kansas City Chiefs are signing kicker Matt Ammendola to their practice squad, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

Ammendola, 25, first entered the league as a 2020 undrafted free agent who signed with the Carolina Panthers in 2021 out of Oklahoma State. After an offseason stay with the Panthers, Ammendola signed with the New York Jets, but he was released by the Jets last December after going 13 of 19 in field-goal tries. Ammendola made 14 of 15 extra points. Amendola spent the rest of the year on the Jets practice squad. He was waived after a brief training camp stint with the Houston Texans last August.

On Monday in Kansas City, Ammendola won a “six-man kicker derby” — also according to Pelissero — that featured several kickers, including Elliott Fry, who replaced kicker Harrison Butker in December of 2021 after he tested positive for COVID-19.

The potential issue in 2022 is not COVID, but rather an ankle injury Butker suffered during the first quarter of the team’s 44-21 Week 1 win over the Arizona Cardinals. Butker rolled his ankle on a messy State Farm Stadium turf. He managed to return and make a 54-yard field goal and four extra points, but safety Justin Reid had to handle the team’s kickoffs.

On the Chiefs' “estimated” Monday injury report, Butker would not have practiced, indicating the injury may keep him out of the team’s Thursday Night Football game against the Chargers. It will remain to be seen if kickoffs stay with Reid, who managed five touchbacks in seven tries on Sunday.