Tommy Townsend

Tommy Townsend
refer to caption
Townsend at the White House in 2023
No. 6 – Houston Texans
Position:Punter
Personal information
Born: (1996-11-12) November 12, 1996 (age 28)
Orlando, Florida, U.S.
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:191 lb (87 kg)
Career information
High school:Boone (Orlando)
College:Tennessee (2015)
Florida (2016–2019)
Undrafted:2020
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 9, 2024
Punts:242
Punting yards:11,420
Average Punt:47.2
Net punting average:42.8
Inside 20:104
Longest punt:76
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Thomas Townsend (born November 12, 1996) is an American professional football punter for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Tennessee Volunteers and Florida Gators, and was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2020.

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split
6 ft 1+3⁄8 in
(1.86 m) 		191 lb
(87 kg) 		32+1⁄8 in
(0.82 m) 		9+1⁄8 in
(0.23 m)		 4.75 s 1.64 s 2.74 s
All values from NFL Combine[1][2]

Kansas City Chiefs

2020 season

Townsend signed with the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent on April 30, 2020.[3] In the fourth game of his rookie season, he had two punts that went 65 yards against the New England Patriots. He finished the game with an average of 60.8 yards, a Chiefs franchise record for punt average in a game (minimum 4 attempts), 47.8 yard net average.[4] On November 1, he completed his first career pass on a fake punt against the New York Jets. The completion went for 13 yards, which resulted in a first down.[5] In Week 15 against the New Orleans Saints, Townsend punted six times, landing three inside the 20-yard-line with a long of 61 yards, earning the American Football Conference (AFC) Special Teams Player of the Week.[6] Overall, Townsend finished the 2020 season with 52 punts for 2,339 net yards for a 44.98 average.[7] For his rookie season, he was named to the Pro Football Writers Association's All-Rookie team.[8]

In the Chiefs' playoff game against the Cleveland Browns, he did not punt a single time for the first time in his career.[9] It was the second time in franchise history a Chiefs punter did not punt a single time in a playoff game. The other was Jason Baker in 2003. The Chiefs reached Super Bowl LV but lost 31-9 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Townsend punted three times for 107 yards in the loss.

2021 season

In the Chiefs' Week 9 game against the Green Bay Packers, Townsend punted six times with an average of punt of 56.8 yards with five being downed inside the 20 yard line. For his performance, he was named AFC Special Teams player of the week.[10] The following week, he completed his second career pass on a fake punt for 16 yards. After kicking six punts inside the 20-yard line, as well as completing a pass on a fake punt, Townsend was named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for November.[11] He was placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list on December 24, 2021.[12] On December 26, his brother Johnny started in replacement of him.[13][14] He was activated on December 29.[15] Overall, Townsend finished the season with 37 punts for 1,746 net yards for a 47.19 average.[16]

2022 season

Townsend in 2022

Townsend earned AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for September.[17] He earned AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors for his Week 15 game against the Houston Texans.[18] He finished the 2022 season with 53 punts for 2,672 net yards for a 50.42 average.[19] For his efforts, he earned Pro Bowl and first team All-Pro honors.[20][21] In Super Bowl LVII, Townsend punted twice for 98 yards in the Chiefs 38–35 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.[22]

2023 season

Townsend finished the 2023 season with 59 punts for 2,776 net yards for a 47.05 average.[23] In Super Bowl LVIII, Townsend punted five times for 254 yards in the Chiefs' 25-22 victory over the San Francisco 49ers, giving Townsend his second straight championship.[24]

Houston Texans

On March 15, 2024, Townsend signed a two-year contract with the Houston Texans.[25]

NFL career statistics

Legend
Won the Super Bowl
Bold Career high

Regular Season

Year Team GP Punting
Punts Yds Avg Lng Blk
2020 KC 16 52 2,339 45.0 67 0
2021 KC 16 31 1,746 47.2 68 0
2022 KC 17 53 2,672 50.4 76 0
2023 KC 17 59 2,776 47.1 68 0
Career 66 201 9,533 47.4 76 0

Postseason

Year Team GP Punting
Punts Yds Avg Lng Blk
2020 KC 3 4 151 37.8 51 0
2021 KC 3 10 435 43.5 57 0
2022 KC 3 10 452 45.2 60 0
2023 KC 4 15 715 47.7 62 0
Career 13 39 1,753 44.9 62 0

Personal life

Townsend is an Eagle Scout.[26] His older brother, Johnny, is also a professional punter who played at the University of Florida.[27]

References

  1. ^ "Tommy Townsend Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  2. ^ "Tommy Townsend, Florida, P, 2020 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". draftscout.com. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
  3. ^ "Tommy Townsend". footballdb.com. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  4. ^ "New England Patriots at Kansas City Chiefs – October 5th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  5. ^ "New York Jets at Kansas City Chiefs – November 1st, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  6. ^ Gordon, Grant (December 23, 2020). "Bills QB Josh Allen, Cardinals QB Kyler Murray lead Players of the Week". NFL.com. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  7. ^ "Tommy Townsend 2020 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  8. ^ Hays, Chris (January 22, 2021). "Boone, Gators product Tommy Townsend earns NFL All-Rookie honors". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  9. ^ "Divisional Round – Cleveland Browns at Kansas City Chiefs – January 17th, 2021". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  10. ^ "Chiefs punter Tommy Townsend wins AFC Special Teams Player of the Week". KMBC.com. November 10, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  11. ^ Simmons, Myles (December 2, 2021). "Tommy Townsend is the AFC special teams player of the month". ProFootballTalk. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  12. ^ Goldman, Charles (December 24, 2021). "Chiefs P Tommy Townsend latest to be placed on Reserve/COVID-19 list". Chiefs Wire. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  13. ^ "Chiefs 36-10 Steelers (Dec 26, 2021) Box Score". ESPN. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  14. ^ "Johnny Townsend Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  15. ^ Goldman, Charles (December 29, 2021). "Chiefs activate 4 players from Reserve/COVID-19 list". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  16. ^ "Tommy Townsend 2021 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
  17. ^ Alper, Josh (September 29, 2022). "Tommy Townsend nabs AFC special teams player of the month". ProFootballTalk. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
  18. ^ McMullen, Matt (December 21, 2022). "Tommy Townsend Named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week". Kansas City Chiefs. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
  19. ^ "Tommy Townsend 2022 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
  20. ^ "2022 NFL Pro Bowlers". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
  21. ^ "2022 NFL All-Pros". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
  22. ^ "Super Bowl LVII – Philadelphia Eagles vs. Kansas City Chiefs – February 12th, 2023". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  23. ^ "Tommy Townsend 2023 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  24. ^ "Super Bowl LVIII - San Francisco 49ers vs. Kansas City Chiefs - February 11th, 2024". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  25. ^ "Houston Texans Transactions (03-15-2024)". HoustonTexans.com. March 15, 2024. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
  26. ^ Derr, Aaron (February 9, 2024). "The Chiefs' punter is an Eagle Scout, plus more good news from this week". Aaron On Scouting. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  27. ^ Goldman, Charles (December 23, 2021). "Chiefs to bring back P Johnny Townsend on the practice squad". Chiefs Wire. USA Today. Retrieved January 16, 2024.