Johnny Townsend (American football)

Johnny Townsend (born February 14, 1995) is an American football punter for the Orlando Guardians of the XFL. He played college football at Florida.[1] He was drafted 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.

Johnny Townsend
No. 19 – Orlando Guardians
Position:Punter
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
NFL Draft:2018 / Round: 5 / Pick: 173
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:Reserve
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

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 drafted 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]

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.
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