Chiefs’ Tommy Townsend isn’t first punter this year to have drug test after a big game
Although he would rather have celebrated a Chiefs victory Sunday, punter Tommy Townsend nevertheless had reason to be happy with his performance.
Townsend boomed all three of his punts against the Bills at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, averaging 55.7 yards per attempt. His longest went 60 yards.
When he got to the Chiefs’ locker room after the game, he learned he’d been chosen to be screened for performance-enhancing drugs.
A random drug test.
“Love a random PED test,” Townsend wrote on Twitter. “Classic.”
Former Colts punter-turned-ESPN broadcaster Pat McAfee tweeted at Townsend about the NFL’s decision to test the Chiefs punter.
The NFL can test up to 10 players each week, so Townsend’s being chosen for testing doesn’t appear to be out of the ordinary. The NFL did the same thing to Saints punter Blake Gillikin earlier this year.
During a preseason game against the Packers, Gillikin boomed an 81-yard punt. Following the game, he, too, was chosen for a random drug test.
Gillikin shared a screen shot of the message he received and wrote on Twitter: “Punt at your own risk.”
Surely the NFL doesn’t have it in for punters ... right?
The Star’s Herbie Teope contributed to this story
This story was originally published October 19, 2022 at 10:55 AM.
