Thomas Townsend (born November 12, 1996) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

punter for the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

of the

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(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Tennessee Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in Division I of the National Colleg ...

and

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni an ...

, and was signed by the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 2020.

Professional career

Kansas City Chiefs

2020 season

Townsend signed with the

as an

on April 30, 2020. In the fourth game of his rookie season, he had two punts that went 65 yards against the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

. He finished the game with an average of 60.8 yards, a Chiefs franchise record for punt average in a game (minimum 4 attempts), 47.8 yard net average. On November 1, he completed his first career pass on a fake punt against the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

. The completion went for 13 yards, which resulted in a first down. In Week 15 against the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

, Townsend punted six times, landing three inside the 20-yard-line with a long of 61 yards, earning the

American Football Conference The American Football Conference (AFC) is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL), the highest level of professional American football in the United States. The AFC and its counterpart, the National Football Conference ...

(AFC) Special Teams Player of the Week. Overall, Townsend finished the 2020 season with 52 punts for 2,339 net yards for a 44.98 average. For his rookie season, he was named to the

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's All-Rookie team. In the Chiefs' playoff game against the

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, he did not punt a single time for the first time in his career. It was the second time in franchise history a Chiefs punter did not punt a single time in a playoff game. The other was Jason Baker in

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. The Chiefs reached

Super Bowl LV Super Bowl LV was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2020 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the American Football Conferen ...

but lost 31-9 to the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

. Townsend punted three times for 107 yards in the loss.

2021 season

In the Chiefs' Week 9 game against the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

, Townsend punted six times with an average of punt of 56.8 yards with five being downed inside the 20 yard line. For his performance, he was named AFC Special Teams player of the week. The following week, he completed his second career pass on a fake punt for 16 yards. After kicking six punts inside the 20-yard line, as well as completing a pass on a fake punt, Townsend was named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for November. He was placed on the Reserve/

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list on December 24, 2021. On December 26, his brother

Johnny Johnny is an English language personal name. It is usually an affectionate diminutive of the masculine given name John (given name), John, but from the 16th century it has sometimes been a given name in its own right for males and, less commonly ...

started in replacement of him. He was activated on December 29. Overall, Townsend finished the season with 37 punts for 1,746 net yards for a 47.19 average.

2022 season

Townsend earned AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for September. He earned AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors for his Week 15 game against the

. He finished the 2022 season with 53 punts for 2,672 net yards for a 50.42 average. For his efforts, he earned

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

and first team

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

honors. In

Super Bowl LVII Super Bowl LVII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2022 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Kansas City Chiefs defeated the National Football Confere ...

, Townsend punted twice for 98 yards in the Chiefs 38–35 victory over the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

2023 season

Townsend finished the 2023 season with 59 punts for 2,776 net yards for a 47.05 average. In

Super Bowl LVIII Super Bowl LVIII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2023 NFL season, 2023 season. A rematch of Super Bowl LIV four years prior, the American Football Conference (AFC) 20 ...

, Townsend punted five times for 254 yards in the Chiefs' 25-22 victory over the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

, giving Townsend his second straight championship.

Houston Texans

On March 15, 2024, Townsend signed a two-year contract with the

. In the 2024 season, he punted 76 times for 3,649 yards for a 48.01 average.

NFL career statistics

Regular Season

Postseason

Personal life

Townsend is an

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of Scouting America. Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Scout rank has been earned by over ...

. His older brother,

, is a former professional punter who also played at the University of Florida.

References

External links

Houston Texans bio

Tennessee Volunteers bio

Florida Gators bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Townsend, Tommy 1996 births Living people William R. Boone High School alumni American football punters Tennessee Volunteers football players Florida Gators football players Kansas City Chiefs players Players of American football from Orlando, Florida American Conference Pro Bowl players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen