The Kansas City Chiefs moved on from punter Tommy Townsend this offseason as he signed with the Houston Texans. They signed two punters but decided not to have a competition carry into training camp.
Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub spoke with reporters after Saturday’s practice, addressing the early decision to name Matt Araiza the starting punter before training camp.
“Both of those guys did a great job. Ryan Rehkow did a great job, the kid from BYU we had. It was a tough decision,” said Toub. It wasn’t really cut and dry, but in the end, Matt (Araiza) was a little more consistent day to day. Being a lefty punter, a little bit older, I think we made that choice to go with it. I didn’t want to go into this camp with two guys.”
Toub and the coaching staff wanted the punter competition settled before the start of training camp. The goal is to build reps and chemistry with kicker Harrison Butker, as the punter also serves as the primary holder during the season.
“Returners don’t normally see (lefty punters). Now everybody has a jug machine that’s able to turn into a lefty punt, but you just don’t see a lot of lefty punters in the league,” said Toub. “They don’t catch them a lot, mostly righties.”
Araiza has plenty of potential as a former All-American in college and the Ray Guy Award winner as the nation’s best collegiate punter in 2021. He was initially drafted by the Buffalo Bills in 2022.