An era comes to an end in Kansas City.
After 238 regular-season games, the longest-tenured player on the Kansas City Chiefs roster, punter Dustin Colquitt, appears to be parting ways with the team. Colquitt posted a late-night goodbye message on his Instagram page, indicating that he’ll no longer be a member of the Chiefs.
The 37-year-old has seen a lot in Kansas City, his career spanning five head coaches and four general managers. He’s probably forgotten more about the team than we’ll ever know. He was the last player on the roster that was drafted before the Andy Reid era.
Colquitt joined the Chiefs as a third-round draft pick in 2005, immediately establishing himself as a professional on and off the field. As his career progressed, he’d go on to become the most dominant punter in franchise history, crushing records held by Jerrel Wilson. Colquitt is currently ranked first in franchise history with 1,124 career punts, 50,393 punting yards and a 44.8 yard per punt average.
A three-time nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, Colquitt is beloved by the Kansas City community and his teammates. He was voted in by his peers as a postseason team captain five times during his career.
Colquitt gave Chiefs Kingdom his everything for 15 long years, both on and off the football field. He won’t have to worry about Patrick Mahomes not letting him punt anymore. In the end, he was rewarded with a Super Bowl victory, and he’ll go down in infamy as one of the best to ever do it in Kansas City. Whether he’s been released or retired from the NFL, he should be proud of his accomplishments, because he’s going out on top.
The Chiefs signed two punters this offseason, Tyler Newsome and Tommy Townsend. One of the two players will presumably take Colquitt’s spot during the 2020 NFL season. Needless to say, they’ll have some pretty big shoes to fill.