Aside from the recent addition of former New York Giants cornerback Deandre Baker, the Kansas City Chiefs made two other roster moves on Tuesday night that may have slipped through the cracks.
According to the NFL’s official transaction report, the Chiefs released defensive tackle Braxton Hoyett from the practice squad and replaced him with punter Johnny Townsend, brother of current Chiefs punter Tommy Townsend.
Johnny, 25, began his NFL journey as a fifth-round draft pick in 2018 by the Oakland Raiders as a product out of the University of Florida, the same school his brother went to.
His rookie year was the only season Johnny was on an active NFL roster, playing all 16 games for the Silver and Black, where he registered 70 punts for 3,022 yards and finished 32nd in the NFL in yards-per-punt (43.2).
The Raiders waived Johnny on August 14, 2019, but joined the New York Giants practice squad a day later. There, he would end up sitting out the entire 2019 campaign due to injury and was released at the end of the season.
After sitting out the 2019 season, Johnny began his 2020 campaign on the practice squad of the Baltimore Ravens before the team waived him later during the season. He now joins the Chiefs in a precautionary move due to the realities surrounding COVID-19.
In order to create an opening for Townsend on the practice squad, the Chiefs had to terminate Braxton Hoyett’s contract. Hoyett began his NFL career with the Tennessee Titans as an undrafted free agent in 2019 but failed to make the team during the pre-season.
In October 2019, Hoyett joined Kansas City’s practice squad and had been with the Chiefs since. He made his NFL debut in Kansas City’s road victory over the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 2 of this season. Hoyett played just two snaps in relief of teammate Khalen Saunders, who had suffered a minor injury. Since then, he has reverted back to the Chiefs practice squad and is now on the free-agent market.
