Emmanuel Acho has heard the outrage over Justin Tucker’s return to the NFL, and the former linebacker minced no words about the people voicing it. On the “Pregame” show, Acho pushed back at media critics of the Kansas City Chiefs’ decision to sign Tucker to their practice squad and asked, “Where are we going to draw the line?”

The Chiefs signed the five-time All-Pro kicker on Wednesday, Oct. 28. Tucker served a 10-game suspension in 2025 for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy after 16 massage therapists accused him of sexual misconduct. He has denied the allegations, calling them “unequivocally false.”

Emmanuel Acho Calls Out Mina Kimes and Nick Wright’s Reactions to Justin Tucker Signing

Nick Wright and Mina Kimes were among the media figures Acho had in mind.

Wright had written on Wednesday morning, “Going on the record that I hope Justin Tucker never plays a snap for the Chiefs,” while Kimes responded to the signing by posting a screenshot of the allegations against Tucker.

Acho then ran through a list of offenses and one name from the league’s most recent weekend: “Are we going to draw the line at DUIs? Because that puts people’s lives at risk. Are we going to draw the line at domestic violence? Because that literally puts people’s lives at risk. Josh Jacobs just played this past weekend.”

Acho also challenged Wright and Kimes on the teams they publicly support, arguing that their criticism of Tucker was difficult to separate from the fact that they still celebrate the Chiefs and Seahawks while covering a league that has employed players with serious off-field allegations and misconduct in the past.

“If you’re going to cover the league, then cover the league. But otherwise, don’t go to the parades, Nick Wright,” Acho added. “Don’t cheer when the Seahawks win because one player who’s committed one act of one of these violence or these crimes, they’re polluting all of it.”

Acho continued, “So don’t just sit here and post something for the sake of retweets… because you’re still covering it, and you’re still benefiting from it. Mina Kimes, you’re still benefiting from the existence of these players playing. Nick Wright, you’re still benefiting from the existence of these players playing.”

He also set a challenge of his own: “So, if you’re really that vehemently against it, then stand 10 toes and be that vehemently against it, because it is worthy of being vehemently against.”

Acho then widened his argument and brought Chiefs head coach Andy Reid into it:

“But that $2 million-plus check is going to cash for y’all annually. So, y’all are going to keep doing that job. And Andy Reid is just like y’all, because he got to keep getting paid to do his job, too. So, don’t judge Andy Reid, and we won’t judge y’all. And everybody just keep it pushing.”

Even while going after the critics, Acho was careful to draw one distinction: “So, it’s just very infuriating to me when I saw some of these. And it’s not because the accusations aren’t grotesque. They are. And this is coming from somebody who’s the square one.”

Questions about Tucker filled roughly five straight minutes of Reid’s news conference after the signing. Asked about the decision, Reid kept his response brief: “He’s done his suspension. … I’ll leave it at that.” Tucker served the 10-game suspension as a free agent and did not play at all during the 2025 season.

The signing also comes amid Harrison Butker’s struggles. The Chiefs’ kicker, through each of their three Super Bowl championship seasons, has missed five of 16 field goal attempts this season.

The 10-year veteran, who ranks 29th on PFN’s Kicker Impact Metric, went 1-of-3 in Sunday’s 20-3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. His 58-yard attempt fell short before halftime, and he later missed a 45-yarder midway through the fourth quarter at the end of an 11-play, 60-yard drive. Butker’s 50-yard field goal in the third quarter accounted for Kansas City’s only points.

Tucker, 36, remains on the practice squad and has not appeared in an NFL game since 2024. Butker remains on the 53-man roster, and Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub said Thursday that he is still the team’s preferred kicker. Any future promotion could give Tucker his first opportunity to return to NFL action in nearly two years.