The Kansas City Chiefs continue to reinforce their practice squad with COVID-19 insurance. They signed a pair of players on Wednesday, and now they’ve added another at a key position on special teams.
As first reported by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Chiefs are adding P Johnny Towsend to the practice. Johnny, the older brother of Chiefs starter Tommy Townsend, returns to Kansas City after having spent time on the team’s practice squad in 2020 at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Chiefs added Johnny as insurance last season when the team was dealing with some COVID-19 issues, and now they’re doing the same thing, this time following Harrison Butker’s recent positive COVID-19 test.
The elder Townsend only spent about two months in Kansas City before he was poached from the practice squad by the Baltimore Ravens.
With COVID already taking out the #Chiefs' kicker this week, the team is adding insurance for punter Tommy Townsend — and it's a very familiar face. Townsend's brother, Johnny, is expected to sign with the team's practice squad, per source.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) December 23, 2021
Johnny was a fifth-round draft pick out of the University of Florida by the then-Oakland Raiders in 2018. He set the all-time punting record for Florida and holds numerous SEC records, but he hasn’t found the same success in the NFL. After being waived by the Raiders ahead of the 2019 NFL season, Johnny has bounced around spending time with a few different teams.
He most recently appeared in three games with the Tennessee Titans this season as a COVID replacement, recording 11 punts for 465 yards, including a long punt of 63 yards. They waived Johnny in mid-October when starting punter Brett Kern was activated off the Reserve/COVID-19 list.
[listicle id=113686]