Johnny Townsend
Personal information
Born: (1995-02-14) February 14, 1995
Leoti, Kansas, U.S.
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school:Boone (Orlando, FL)
College:Florida
Position:Punter
NFL Draft:2018 / Round: 5 / Pick: 173
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2022
Punts:83
Punting yards:3,587
Average punt:43.2
Player stats at NFL.com

Johnny Townsend (born February 14, 1995) is an American football punter who is a free agent. He played college football at Florida.[1] He was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL Draft. His younger brother Tommy is a punter on the Chiefs' active roster.

Early years

Townsend played at William R. Boone High School in Orlando.[2] He was initially recruited by Ohio State.[3]

College career

Townsend had the highest NCAA Division I FBS punting average in the country in 2016, with a 47.9 yard average.[4] With this average, he also set the all-time punting record for the Florida Gators.[5] Townsend held the NCAA Division I FBS record for highest career average yards per punt until 2021, when it was broken by Colorado State punter Ryan Stonehouse.[6]

Professional career

Oakland Raiders

Townsend was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the fifth round (173rd overall) of the 2018 NFL Draft.[7] The pick used to draft him was acquired from the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for Jamize Olawale.[8] He made his NFL debut in the Raiders' season opener against the Los Angeles Rams. He had four punts for 178 net yards in the 33–13 loss.[9] In Week 10, against the Los Angeles Chargers, he executed a 42-yard rush on a fake punt.[10] He totaled 70 punts for 3,022 net yards for a 43.17 average in his rookie season.[11] He was waived by the Raiders on August 13, 2019.[12]

New York Giants

On August 14, 2019, Townsend was claimed off waivers by the New York Giants.[13] He was waived on August 31, 2019.[14]

Baltimore Ravens

After sitting out the 2019 NFL season, Townsend had a tryouts with the Baltimore Ravens on August 18 and 22, 2020.[15][16] He signed with the team on August 25, 2020.[17] He was waived on September 5, 2020.[18]

Kansas City Chiefs

Townsend was signed to the Kansas City Chiefs' practice squad on November 17, 2020, joining his brother Tommy who is on their active roster.[19]

Baltimore Ravens (second stint)

Townsend was signed by the Baltimore Ravens off the Chiefs' practice squad on December 31, 2020, after punter Sam Koch was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list.[20]

On August 17, 2021, Townsend was waived by the Ravens and re-signed to the practice squad on September 1, 2021[21] He was released from the practice squad on September 21, 2021.[22]

Tennessee Titans

Townsend signed with the Tennessee Titans on September 30, 2021.[23] He was waived on October 19, 2021.[24]

Houston Texans

On October 30, 2021, Townsend was signed to the Houston Texans practice squad.[25] On November 2, 2021, Townsend was released by the Texans.[26]

Kansas City Chiefs (second stint)

Townsend was signed to the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad on December 23, 2021.[27] Following his brother, Tommy, the Chiefs' usual punter, testing positive for COVID-19, he was elevated via a standard elevation for the Chiefs' week 16 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He reverted back to the practice squad after the game, and later released on December 28.[28]

Orlando Guardians

Townsend became a free agent when the Guardians folded when the XFL and USFL merged to create the United Football League (UFL).[29]

References

  1. ↑ Thompson, Edgar (September 1, 2016). "UF punter Johnny Townsend 'one of defense's best friends'". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
  2. ↑ Hays, Chris (October 2, 2021). "Boone product Johnny Townsend returns to NFL to punt for Titans". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
  3. ↑ Hays, Chris (February 7, 2013). "Boone punter Johnny Townsend signs with Florida over Ohio State, Alabama - Video". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  4. ↑ "NCAA Punting Statistics - Individual". ncaa.com. January 10, 2017.
  5. ↑ Pantages, Will (January 13, 2017). "NFL DRAFT TRACKER: WHO IS STAYING, WHO IS LEAVING EARLY?". Florida Gators Athletics. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  6. ↑ "NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  7. ↑ "2018 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  8. ↑ "Raiders Select Johnny Townsend In Fifth Round Of 2018 NFL Draft". Raiders.com. April 28, 2018. Archived from the original on April 29, 2018. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Los Angeles Rams at Oakland Raiders - September 10th, 2018". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  10. ↑ "Los Angeles Chargers at Oakland Raiders - November 11th, 2018". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  11. ↑ "Johnny Townsend 2018 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  12. ↑ "Raiders sign Dorleant and Holsey, waive Cheevers and Townsend". Raiders.com. August 13, 2019. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  13. ↑ Eisen, Michael (August 14, 2019). "Giants claim punter Johnny Townsend off waivers". Giants.com. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  14. ↑ Eisen, Michael (August 31, 2019). "New York Giants announce 53-man roster". Giants.com. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  15. ↑ @AlbertBreer (August 18, 2020). "Today's tryout/visit list" (Tweet). Retrieved August 21, 2020 – via Twitter.
  16. ↑ @AlbertBreer (August 22, 2020). "Today's tryout/visit list" (Tweet). Retrieved August 24, 2020 – via Twitter.
  17. ↑ Alper, Josh (August 25, 2020). "Ravens sign Johnny Townsend, DeAndrew White". ProFootballTalk. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
  18. ↑ Mink, Ryan (September 5, 2020). "Ravens' Initial 53-Man Roster Is Set". BaltimoreRavens.com. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  19. ↑ Goldman, Charles (November 17, 2020). "Chiefs sign P Johnny Townsend to practice squad". Chiefs Wire. USA Today. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  20. ↑ Mink, Ryan (December 31, 2020). "Ravens Sign Punter Johnny Townsend With Sam Koch on COVID-19 List". BaltimoreRavens.com. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  21. ↑ Mink, Ryan (September 1, 2021). "Ravens Sign 14 Players to Practice Squad". BaltimoreRavens.com. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  22. ↑ Brown, Clifton (September 21, 2021). "Ravens Sign Two Offensive Tackles to Practice Squad". BaltimoreRavens.com. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  23. ↑ Wyatt, Jim (September 30, 2021). "Titans Add Punter Johnny Townsend to the Roster". TennesseeTitans.com. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  24. ↑ Wyatt, Jim (October 19, 2021). "Titans Place CB Caleb Farley, WR Cameron Batson on Injured Reserve". TennesseeTitans.com. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  25. ↑ "Houston Texans Transactions (10-30-2021)". HoustonTexans.com. October 30, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  26. ↑ "Houston Texans Transactions (11-2-2021)". HoustonTexans.com. November 2, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  27. ↑ Goldman, Charles (December 23, 2021). "Chiefs to bring back P Johnny Townsend on the practice squad". Chiefs Wire. USA Today. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  28. ↑ Hays, Chris (December 27, 2021). "Chiefs swap out punting Townsend brothers as COVID hits NFL". OrlandoSentinel.com. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  29. ↑ "Newly formed United Football League sets 8 markets, tabs coaches". espn.com. January 1, 2024.
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