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Report: Former Florida P Johnny Townsend lands with new NFL team
By Keith Farner
Published:
Johnny Townsend didn’t have to wait long for his phone to ring.
The former Florida punter, who was cut by the Oakland Raiders on Tuesday, was claimed by the New York Giants, according to Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network. Townsend was let go by the Raiders despite being a fifth-round draft pick as he was beaten out in camp by rookie punter A.J. Cole.
Now Townsend will compete with Riley Dixon, a former Syracuse punter, who was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the seventh round in 2016.
Townsend appeared in all 16 games for Oakland and had a 43.2 average with a net average of 38.3 yards per punt. He also pinned 17 of his punts inside the 20-yard line last season.
Townsend in 2016 set the Florida school-record for punting average with a 45.4-yard average. That mark put his career fifth all-time in punting yards and tied for ninth in punts. He set a new career punting average of 46.2 yards, which ranked first in SEC lore before Texas A&M’s Braden Mann came along with a 51-yard average.
#Giants have claimed P Johnny Townsend off waivers from the #Raiders, source says.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) August 14, 2019
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
