Chiefs have ‘full confidence’ in replacement kicker Matt Ammendola

With starting kicker Harrison Butker still recovering from a left ankle injury, Kansas City Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub is comfortable rolling with the newly-acquired Matt Ammendola.

Ammendola, who the Chiefs signed prior to their week two matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers, was perfect in his Kansas City debut. The former New York Jet hit both of his field goal attempts while also going 3-for-3 on extra points in the Chiefs’ 27-24 win over the Chargers.

Ammendola earned his shot with the Chiefs last week over five other kickers whom the team brought in for a competition. According to Toub, it was clear that Ammendola was the top option.

“He won the competition by far,” Toub told the Kansas City media on Thursday. “We kicked 10 kicks and he made nine out of the 10 — including a 56-yarder. He won the competition clearly. We didn’t sign him just because he’s a big guy. He’s got good talent.”

Butker, meanwhile, didn’t practice on Wednesday or Thursday as he continues to work his way back from an ankle injury he sustained in the Chiefs’ season-opening win against the Arizona Cardinals. If Ammendola has to stand in again this Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts, Toub is convinced he’ll get the job done once again.

“Like I said in the workout – he kicked a 56-yarder,” Toub continued. “He kicked a 60-yarder at the stadium that day and yesterday he kicked a 53 in a two-minute situation. He’s got the range; he can do it. We have full confidence in him.”

Toub seems to view Ammendola as a reliable security blanket if Butker misses another game, but he stopped short of ruling out the possibility of Butker returning at the eleventh hour.

“Butker is very talented,” added Toub. “If he’s close, he’s better than a lot of people, so we’ll just leave it at that.”