KC Chiefs News: Dustin Colquitt’s departure paves way for new punter
KC Chiefs news surrounds the release of long-time Kansas City Chiefs punter Dustin Colquitt, who was released by the team earlier this week. A new punting era has begun for the Chiefs.
After 15 years, the Kansas City Chiefs are parting ways with punter Dustin Colquitt. The move was announced early morning on Tuesday and while it’s sad, it’s also not surprising. The Chiefs had shelled out a lot of money to Colquitt throughout his career and when looking at contracts that need to be given out in the next two offseasons, the team had to cut corners where they could.
Colquitt was selected in the third round of the 2005 NFL Draft and at the time, people probably teased the Chiefs for the pick. “Who takes a punter in the third round?” was probably joked about a lot (thankfully Twitter didn’t exist then – Could you imagine?).
Well, the joke ended up being on those people because Colquitt leaves the organization as a Kansas City Chiefs legend. He punted for the team for 15 years and ended with a Super Bowl ring.
The #Chiefs have released longtime punter Dustin Colquitt, source said. After 15 seasons, Colquitt said goodbye on Instagram.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) April 28, 2020
With Colquitt not punting for the Chiefs for the first time since 2008 (he missed two games that year), it paves the way for some true competition at the position for the first time in over a decade. Peter Schrager of Good Morning Football noted that the team liked UDFA punter Tommy Townsend a lot.
Townsend will compete with Tyler Newsome, who spent 2019 with the Chargers. Woohoo for a competition at punter!
It’ll be weird not seeing Colquitt out there anymore, but he rode the wave with this organization since he was brought in in 2005 and was always a class act. He was one of the best players on some of those 2000s teams (and might have been the best player in 2012) and at least he got to ride off with a Super Bowl ring.
It might seem silly to highlight a punter, but Colquitt meant a lot to this organization and to the fans. He’ll definitely be in the Chiefs Ring of Honor someday.
HERE’S WHAT’S TRENDING IN KC CHIEFS NEWS FROM AROUND FanSided
- Most intriguing UDFAs from 2020 draft class [KC Kingdom]
- Dustin Colquitt admits release from KC Chiefs is ‘tough’ [Matt Conner, Arrowhead Addict]
- Best and worst pick from 2020 NFL Draft [KC Kingdom]
CHECK OUT WHAT’S TRENDING IN KC CHIEFS NEWS FROM AROUND THE REST OF THE WEB
- Andy Reid: Dustin Colquitt is one of the greatest Chiefs of all-time [Josh Alper, Pro Football Talk]
- Revolving roster door exemplifies Dustin Colquitt’s rollercoaster Chiefs career [Jared Koller, KCTV5]
Tommy Townsend looks to be the favorite heading into the summer, but Newsome will provide some competition. Whenever a punter was signed previously, fans usually didn’t even give them a shot because they knew Colquitt was going to win the job.
As mentioned above, not having Colquitt in Kansas City will be weird, but this was a move that needed to be made. At least the final time he punted in a Chiefs jersey came in the Super Bowl and that after years of hardship, he won a ring with the team who drafted him 15 years ago.
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Best of luck, Dustin!