Former Chief Proves Brett Veach Right With Awful Week 2 Performance
By Joe Summers
One of the biggest personnel changes the Chiefs made this offseason was swapping out punter Tommy Townsend for Matt Araiza, letting Townsend go to the Texans in free agency.
Through two weeks, that looks like a shrewd decision by Brett Veach and his staff. Townsend's struggles were on full display on Sunday Night Football. Despite Houston escaping with a win over Chicago, Townsend drew the ire of fans thanks to one shanked punt and another that got blocked.
He's making $3 million annually, the fourth-highest mark among all punters. Meanwhile, Araiza has the second-lowest cap hit on a one-year, $795,000 deal.
Brett Veach Made the Correct Tommy Townsend Decision
Tommy Townsend's 37-yard punt set up the Bears at the Texans' 48. His punt and a 24-yard PI penalty on Calen Bullock led to the Bears' TD on Herbert's 1-yard run to make it 13-10 Texans with 32 seconds left in the half. Those kind of mistakes are keeping Chicago in the game.
— John McClain (@McClain_on_NFL) September 16, 2024
So far this season, both punters are in the bottom 10 in the NFL in average net yards per punt. Araiza fares better though, and he's averaging over 50 yards per punt overall while Townsend is just over 46.
Considering the vast discrepancy in their respective salaries, Araiza is a significantly better value. He's only played two games as well, so it's reasonable to expect him to improve. We know what Townsend is, and there's little evidence to suggest he's a top-five punter like his contract suggests.
Veach has been a master at letting players walk and replacing them at lower cost. We've seen him do that repeatedly and the Araiza acquisition is merely the latest example. Finding ways to save money is one of the reasons Veach can put together such impressive rosters and the Chiefs are marching toward a potential third straight Super Bowl.
Townsend was a quality player, though not one of the most important on the team. We'll continue to see Araiza grow and so far, it's obvious that Veach made the right decision.
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