Patrick Mahomes to Serve as Chiefs' Backup Punter Amid Tommy Townsend Injury | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors
William Burgess Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes has revolutionized the quarterback position since taking over as the starter in 2018, but he's also been secretly a potential weapon for his team at a different position.
Chiefs special teams coach Dave Toub told reporters on Wednesday that the two-time NFL MVP serves as their backup punter and could have been used in that role during their Week 6 win over the Denver Broncos when Tommy Townsend was nursing a knee injury.
Mahomes also confirmed the news:
Patrick Mahomes II @PatrickMahomesI been trying to tell yall!!! <a href="">
"[Mahomes] is our backup punter," Toub said. "He could do it. He shows me all the time he's out there [at practice]. Boom. That guy, it's unbelievable."
Townsend was a late addition to the injury report last week. He went through the first two days of practice before being listed as a limited participant on Wednesday with a knee issue.
The Chiefs officially listed Townsend as questionable for their Thursday night matchup against the Broncos, but Pete Sweeney of Arrowhead Pride noted during warmups before kickoff it seemed like the 26-year-old's knee was doing fine.
Pete Sweeney @pgsweenWatching Tommy Townsend (left knee) go through warmups, I think he's going to be fine to go.
Based on the results from the game, Townsend didn't seem to have any lingering pain. He averaged 48.0 yards on three punt attempts, though it was his second-lowest average in a single game this season after Week 5 against the Minnesota Vikings (46.7).
Townsend is back on the injury report this week, but he's been a full practice participant in each of the past two days.
Mahomes does have experience as a punter, though it's been a while since he's tested his leg.
Per MaxPreps.com, Mahomes punted 29 times at Whitehouse High in Texas. He averaged 38.7 yards per punt on 27 attempts as a senior in 2013-14.
Given how careful the Chiefs are with Mahomes, including not using him on sneaks after he dislocated his patella on that play and missed two games in 2019, it's hard to believe head coach Andy Reid would let him actually let him punt the ball and leave his legs open for a defender trying to block it.
But it would be interesting to see Mahomes get an opportunity to punt in an NFL game since it was part of his arsenal as a high-school star.
