Tag: johnny townsend

Chiefs bring back P Johnny Townsend on the practice squad

The #Chiefs have signed punter Johnny Towsend, the brother of starting punter Tommy Townsend, to the practice squad.

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.

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.

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Titans place Farley, Batson on IR, waive Townsend among 4 moves

The move to waive Johnny Townsend likely means Brett Kern is nearing his return.

The Tennessee Titans made four roster moves on Tuesday, including placing both wide receiver Cameron Batson and cornerback Caleb Farley on Injured Reserve.

In addition, the team has activated safety and 2021 sixth-round pick Brady Breeze from the list, while also waiving punter Johnny Townsend.

Early Tuesday morning, it was reported that Batson and Farley had suffered torn ACLs, ending their respective seasons. The injury to Farley is particularly rough, as it leaves Tennessee even thinner at corner.

The move to waive Townsend likely means that punter Brett Kern is nearing his return. Kern had missed two games with a groin injury, and was out for Week 6 after being placed on the COVID-19 list.

The activation of Breeze gives the Titans a much-needed body in the secondary, although it doesn’t help with their depleted cornerbacks room.

On Tuesday, head coach Mike Vrabel said he expects the team will look at cornerbacks Chris Jones and Briean Boddy-Calhoun, both of whom are on the practice squad. However, the team should also be looking at the trade market ahead of the deadline, which comes on Nov. 2.

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Titans signing P Johnny Townsend as Brett Kern deals with injury

The signing of Townsend comes on the heels of Kern popping up on the injury report.

The Tennessee Titans are signing punter Johnny Townsend to the active roster, according to multiple reports.

The signing of Townsend comes on the heels of punter Brett Kern popping up on the injury report on Wednesday with a groin issue. He was listed as limited in practice.

When asked about Kern on Thursday, special teams coach Craig Aukerman said the veteran punter is “day to day.” Aukerman also revealed that Townsend had a good workout with the team on Thursday.

Kern missed three games for the Titans in 2020, and it led to disaster after one of his replacements, Trevor Allen, struggled mightily against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 10, which helped lead to a blowout loss.

Townsend played in just one game with the Baltimore Ravens last season and averaged 50 yards per punt. Prior to that, Townsend hadn’t played in a game since 2018, when he appeared in all 16 for the then-Oakland Raiders. Townsend averaged 43.2 yards per punt that campaign.

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Ravens waive punter, trim roster to 85 players

Ravens waive punter, trim roster to 85 players

In accordance with the NFL’s roster deadlines, the Baltimore Ravens had to trim their roster to 85 players by Tuesday at 4pm EST. After announcing a series of moves on Monday to get down to 86 players, the team announced that they had waived one more player to come within the requirement.

Townsend was full-time punter for the then-Oakland Raiders, booming 70 punts for 3022 yards, which comes out to a 43.2 yards per punt. He signed with the Ravens in August of 2020 before being waived just a few weeks later, then was signed back to Baltimore’s roster in late-December of the same year after punter Sam Koch was placed on the Reserve/COVID list.

Waiving Townsend means that the Ravens currently have just one punter on their roster for the remainder of the preseason in Koch.

Ravens tender 3 players, including RB Gus Edwards

Baltimore Ravens GM Eric DeCosta said RB Gus Edwards was going to be a part of the team and he held up to it, handing out a 2nd-round tender

It seems like the Baltimore Ravens were waiting for the NFL to release the 2021 salary cap figures before making too many moves. With the NFL announcing the 2021 salary cap will sit at $182.5 million, the Ravens began making some moves.

According to Ravens staff writer Ryan Mink, Baltimore officially handed out tenders to three players — running back Gus Edwards (RFA), center Trystan Colon-Castillo (ERFA), and linebacker Kristian Welch (ERFA).

Though the Ravens didn’t announce which tenders were given to each player, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Edwards received a second-round tender. With the 2021 salary cap finalized, a second-round tender will run Baltimore $3.384 million for one season, according to Over The Cap. As a restricted free agent, Edwards can negotiate with other teams but they’ll have to give the Ravens a second-round selection if Baltimore fails to match an offer sheet. Considering the value of running backs in the NFL in this era, it’s unlikely Edwards will draw much, if any, interest given the tender.

Just because Edwards is now locked up through the 2021 season under a restricted free agent tender, it doesn’t mean the Ravens are done with him. Given the limited cap space this season, inking Edwards to a long-term deal could lower his 2021 cap hit, freeing up valuable funds to sign other players in free agency. At his pre-free-agency press conference, Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta noted Edwards was going to be a part of the team “one way or the other” but seemed to indicate they’d like to get a deal done rather than having to rely on the tender.

As a part of a three-headed backfield in Baltimore last season, Edwards didn’t put up crazy stats by himself. Still, Edwards ran the ball 144 times, gaining 723 yards and six touchdowns in the process while adding another 129 receiving yards on nine catches. Edwards’ 5.0 rushing-yards-per-carry average in 2020 was tied for ninth among the entire NFL, or seventh among just running backs.

With fewer than three accumulated seasons in the NFL and expired contracts, Colon-Castillo and Wech are exclusive rights free agents. As ERFAs, Baltimore is able to offer one-year league-minimum contracts and the players cannot negotiate with other teams. Both will likely earn $780,000 in 2021 before becoming restricted free agents next offseason.

While center is one of the positions the Ravens are expected to address this offseason, Colon-Castillo could be in the mix as well, depending on what Baltimore does. Colon-Castillo started two games last season as the Ravens dealt with injuries, a COVID-19 outbreak, and lackluster play at the position.

Welch didn’t get much playing time on defense, seeing the field for just eight snaps. However, he received quite a bit of playing time on special teams, seeing 173 (41%) of the special-teams snaps last season.

The Ravens still have a few other ERFAs and RFAs that have yet to be tendered. Punter Johnny Townsend (ERFA), linebacker Chris Board (RFA), and wide receiver Antoine Wesley (ERFA) were not among those tendered yet. While Baltimore could still do so, the Ravens already have a punter in Sam Koch and are likely to address wide receiver in free agency or the 2021 NFL draft. Unfortunately for Board, his RFA status meant he was unlikely to receive a tender due to the higher cost against the salary cap. However, if Baltimore wants to keep him around, they could try to sign him to a contract extension at a lower value.

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Ravens activate P Sam Koch from Reserve/COVID-19 list

The Baltimore Ravens have punter Sam Koch back on the team after battling COVID-19, just ahead of Sunday’s game against the Tennessee Titans

The Baltimore Ravens have once again cleared their Reserve/COVID-19 list, this time activating punter Sam Koch from it and back to the 53-man roster on Saturday. The move comes just in time as the Ravens are set to play the Tennessee Titans Sunday in the wild-card round of the AFC playoffs.

Baltimore was without Koch for the first time since he made his debut in the league in 2006. Taking his place was Johnny Townsend, who had a pretty solid outing in Week 17 against the Cincinnati Bengals. Townsend punted twice, averaging 50 yards-per-kick.

To make room for Koch’s return to the Ravens’ 53-man roster, Baltimore announced it had put rookie guard Ben Bredeson on injured reserve. Bredeson had been a recent addition to the injury report with a knee injury, limiting him in practice on Friday and initially labeling him as “questionable” to play this week.

The Ravens have been trending back to better health at the end of this season, seeing several players with nagging injuries return to the lineup. Baltimore will need all the help it can get in the playoffs

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Ravens poached P Johnny Townsend from Chiefs’ practice squad

Johnny Townsend will be the starting punter for the Ravens in Week 17.

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The Baltimore Ravens have poached punter Johnny Townsend from the Kansas City Chiefs— not to be confused with starting punter and his brother Tommy Townsend.

The Ravens found themselves in a pickle when veteran punter Sam Koch was required to go on the reserve/COVID-19 list due to an inconclusive test. That means that Koch would be unable to play in Week 17 and with Baltimore still competing for a playoff berth, they needed a quick solution.

According to the NFL’s official transaction report on Thursday, Johnny Townsend was that quick solution for the Ravens. The Chiefs had signed the older Townsend brother to the practice squad in the middle of November. It was a move that they made with the situation that Baltimore is currently going through in mind. Special teams coordinator Dave Toub explained that the expanded practice squad allowed them the luxury of carrying an extra specialist if something were to happen to Tommy or even Harrison Butker.

Now the Chiefs are vulnerable in that area if a player needed to go on the reserve/COVID-19 list. The good news is that they now have another free roster spot available on the practice squad and they’ll likely bring in some new players, specialists or otherwise to fill that vacant spot.

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Ravens sign punter Johnny Townsend with Sam Koch on COVID-19 list

With Sam Koch on the COVID-19 list, the Baltimore Ravens brought back punter Johnny Townsend after having him throughout training camp

With Sam Koch expected to miss the first game of his 15-year career after being placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list, the Baltimore Ravens had to move quickly to get someone in to replace him in time for Sunday’s game. The Ravens announced they’ve signed Johnny Townsend on Thursday.

If that name sounds familiar, it’s because Townsend was with Baltimore throughout training camp. The Ravens typically bring in an extra leg or two, both to add a little competition for all positions in training camp, and to get a good look at someone they might need to call up — exactly what Baltimore had to do this week.

Townsend was selected in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL Draft by the then-Oakland Raiders. He played all 16 games for the Raiders that season, punting 70 times for an average of 43.2 yards-per-punt, but was waived the following offseason. Townsend has bounced around the league a bit, being signed by the New York Giants and Kansas City Chiefs but hasn’t played in another game.

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Chiefs’ Dave Toub explains decision to sign P Johnny Townsend

A benefit of a 16-man practice squad is being prepared for any potential absence.

The Kansas City Chiefs recently added punter Johnny Townsend, the brother of the team’s current punter Tommy Townsend, to the practice squad.

It was a head-scratching move for many fans as the Chiefs already have the younger Townsend brother as their punter and holder. Teams don’t typically have multiple specialists, even on the practice squad, without a recurrent injury or something of the like. When special teams coordinator Dave Toub spoke with the media on Thursday, he explained the decision in detail, citing the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19 as a driving factor.

“Well, Johnny (Townsend), you know he’s a good punter coming out a few years back, Raiders drafted him,” Toub said. “We liked him coming out…. he was on the street and he was available as somebody that can come in and it was a really good idea by (Brett) Veach to bring a guy in just in case the COVID thing hits us. Hits one of our guys, that we have a guy that’s in the building tested, that we can just plug in there and plug and play. He’s a guy that can come in and punt for us, be a holder. If (Harrison) Butker went down with COVID, if he was out, then we would probably kick with Tommy (Townsend) and then Johnny would be the holder. They’re interchangeable parts, one guy can do a lot of things and that’s why we have him here. It’s a pretty good idea by Veach.”

Johnny is basically an insurance policy in the times of COVID-19. It gives the Chiefs flexibility if Tommy or Butker were placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Even in the event of an injury, it leaves the Chiefs prepared. Typically, with an injury, you’d have the time to get a player in the building and up to speed ahead of a game. That’s not something that would happen this year due to the COVID-19 screening period.

Toub also made it very clear, this isn’t about any sort of struggles going on with Butker and PATs.

“We would just work him in practice,” Toub explained. “He’s a practice squad player that we would work in practice, in case of emergency guy, strictly. We would never – I don’t think there would ever be a situation where he would come in for Tommy (Townsend) unless we needed it, unless we had to have it. But it’s a good luxury to have a guy like that that we can plugin and I’ll tell you, he’s a really good fit too. There’s no pressure.”

It’s a bit of a unique situation having two players who are brothers that play the same position. Toub isn’t concerned about the dynamic at all.

“I mean obviously, he’s going to support his brother, support Tommy (Townsend) in every way,” Toub said. “It’s a really good situation for us. I’m not sure that there’s ever been brothers at one position like that, at the same position as a punter/kicker on the same team, so it’s kind of a unique deal as well.”

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Chiefs sign P Johnny Townsend to practice squad

The Kansas City Chiefs now have two brothers on the team who both play the punter position.

The Kansas City Chiefs have added punter Johnny Townsend to the practice squad according to the NFL’s official transaction report. Johnny’s younger brother, Tommy, is a rookie for the Chiefs on the 53-man roster. Tommy also happens to play the punter position. That won’t be confusing at all.

Kansas City had Johnny in for a visit during the bye week. The 25-year old punter was a fifth-round draft pick by the Raiders back in 2018. He only lasted a season there, but had opportunities with the Giants and most recently the Ravens. He hasn’t found a place to stick yet.

Both Johnny and Tommy played collegiately at the University of Florida. Johnny holds a number of records for the Gators as their all-time leading punter with 11,090 yards and 240 total punts after playing there for four seasons. He definitely has some talent but hasn’t had the opportunity to showcase it in the NFL yet.

Fans might be thinking this is a questionable move. I can already hear the, ‘Why waste a practice squad spot on a punter’ comments. It actually makes some sense for the Chiefs to have another specialist on the practice squad given the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic. Any player can become unavailable at any given time and it takes much longer to get guys in the building with the COVID-19 protocols. Having someone available and ready to play on the practice squad is probably a smart move.

In a corresponding move, DT Braxton Hoyett was subsequently activated from the Reserve/COVID-19 list and waived from the practice squad. That made room for the elder Townsend to sign to the practice squad.

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