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The Kansas City Chiefs made a roster move on Friday, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. The club is giving punter Tommy Townsend the “low” restricted free agent (RFA) tender, offering him $2.6 million for the season. This particular tender is also referred to as the “right of first refusal.”
The #Chiefs are giving first team All-Pro P Tommy Townsend the low tender as a restricted free agent, source says, meaning KC would get no compensation if he signs an offer sheet with another team and they don’t match. The tender is worth $2.6m this season if he signs it.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 10, 2023
As Garafolo notes, if another club offers the punter more money and the Chiefs don't choose to match, they will receive nothing in return. Kansas City could have opted to provide Townsend a first-round ($6 million) or second-round ($4.3 million) tender but did not.
Townsend, 26, was signed by the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent following the conclusion of the 2020 NFL Draft. Townsend, who is also the team's placekicking holder, beat out future Chiefs Hall of Famer Dustin Colquitt for the role after Colquitt’s 15-year tenure.
The 2022 season saw Townsend earn first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors, and he also took home September’s AFC special teams player of the month award — his second such honor. Townsend’s outstanding performance last season led our Jared Sapp to suggest that the Chiefs may reset the punting market with a new contract.
Punter-needy teams should be interested, so this will be a situation to monitor.
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