Kansas City Chiefs Set To Lose Key All-Pro After Signing A Rival’s Former Starter

Per Vincent Pensabene with GH, the Chiefs made a controversial decision to sign former Buffalo Bills punter Matt Araiza to the roster:

The back-to-back Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs are looking to become the first team in the Super Bowl era to pull off a three-peat and are trying to improve their roster on the margins. It is being reported by multiple sources that they are signing former Buffalo Bills punter Matt Araiza to fill the void by free agent Tommy Townsend.

Tommy Townsend is set for free agency

With the Chiefs signing Araiza, the team will likely lose their current punter. Per Mike Garafolo with the NFL Network, Tommy Townsend is set to hit free agency next month.

Townsend is a competent punter

Townsend earned All-Pro honors for his play in the 2022 season. Townsend averaged 47.1 yards per punt and recorded 20 punts inside the 20-yard line for the 2023 season. He averaged punting inside the 20-yard line 33.9 percent of the time his number was called.

Townsend will be an attractive name in the free agency market for teams who need a punter. It’ll be interesting to see if the Chiefs regret their decision to take a risk on Araiza when they had a perfectly competent punter.