It was a bit of Déjà vu for Pro Football Hall of Fame kicker Morten Andersen when he learned of the release of Kansas City Chiefs longtime punter Dustin Colquitt.
“I saw the news come over the ticker and I was like, ‘What?'”
Andersen had been there before. He was with the New Orleans Saints for over a decade, and following the 1994 season, they had released him. They’d say it had nothing to do with his performance, that the decision was based on the $1.2 million owed against the salary cap, which in the ’90s was a substantial amount.
“They said that I was a declining player,” Andersen explained.
But history would prove that Andersen wasn’t a declining player and still had a lot of good football left to play. He’d go on to set the NFL records for field goals and points scored, but he’d do with the Atlanta Falcons with a few years playing for the New York Giants, Kansas City Chiefs and Minnesota Vikings in between.
Are the Chiefs making the same mistake with Colquitt that New Orleans made with Andersen?
“He’s one of the best punters in Chiefs history,” Andersen said of Colquitt.
The words “Chiefs history” stand out like a sore thumb. Andersen is one of only five specialists to have been selected to the Hall of Fame. Only one punter, Ray Guy, has been selected to be immortalized in the Hall of Fame.
Colquitt has more punts, yards, and a higher per punt average to Guy during his career. Colquitt has played for one more season than Guy, but he never led the NFL in punting average, something Guy did four times. Colquitt also has seen six punts blocked, and Guy only had three punts blocked in his 207-game career.
So what of Colquitt’s chances to reach the Hall of Fame?
“Well, I don’t think he’s done playing yet,” Andersen said. “He’s gonna play somewhere, right? I mean, he’s too good. He’s going to play somewhere quickly. You know, somebody is going to snag him and he’ll continue.”
Perhaps Andersen sees a bit of himself in Colquitt, knowing that his own journey with football hadn’t yet ended when he was released. Colquitt just became a Super Bowl champion for the first time, after all. It’s something that could ignite the spark to keep the 37-year-old going at this juncture in his career.
Right now, Andersen is a bit skeptical about Colquitt’s Hall of Fame chances because he thinks the ink isn’t dry on Colquitt’s story. It’s also in part because of his own experiences with it.
“I had to wait five years,” he said. “I still think there are kickers [and punters] that should be in there. Gary Anderson should be in there. Jason Hanson —guys who played long careers over 20 years — who are not in there. Adam Vinatieri will be in there, but you know there are very few spots for a lot of worthy guys.””
So if not Colquitt, then who? Those three that Andersen mentioned are deserving kickers, but what punters are deserving of the gold jacket and bust in Canton, Ohio?
“I think Shane Lechler or Sean Landeta, those were two guys that probably go in before him,” Andersen said. “Every time I talk about the Hall of Fame and specialists, it’s discouraging because there’s a lot of pushback. There’s just not a lot of love in the room for specialists. And you know, a guy like Steve Tasker, I would love to see in there, who I think deserves to be in there and then there’s Devin Hester, you know? So where does a punter fall in that? Listen, Ray Guy is the only Punter in there right now. So is Colquitt the next guy? That’s really tough for me to say.”
Kickers and return specialists have the benefit of scoring points, they make splashy high-pressure game-changing plays on the regular. The work of a punter isn’t as easily seen. The position is judged on an entirely different set of criteria. Maybe the fact that Colquitt is No. 3 all-time with 462 punts inside of the 20-yard line is enough? Truly, Andersen doesn’t know for sure. It all feels almost random to him.
“He has put together a great resume,” Andersen said. “Clearly, to me, [he is] the best punter in Chiefs history and should be afforded every accolade with the Kansas City Chiefs, with his name being put up in the Ring of Honor. But I don’t know about the Hall of Fame. I think the verdict is still out.”
What Andersen does believe is worthy of the Hall of Fame is Colquitt’s character. Colquitt proved it time and again on the field, in the locker room and off the field. He was even the Chiefs’ nominee for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award in 2009 and 2018 because of his work in the Kansas City community.
“I think also what he stood for as a professional,” Andersen said. “He was really good in the locker room. He was really just a kind person, you know, and did a lot off the field. And when you combine that with his stellar performance on the field, you’re having a true professional that you should be proud of the career he had in Kansas City. And the Chiefs should feel very privileged and lucky that they had him for that long.”
Colquitt could go on to play elsewhere, as Andersen believes he will, but no matter what happens in the future, Colquitt’s legacy with the Chiefs will remain unchanged. He was one of the great ones to hold a locker room at Arrowhead Stadium and his presence will be greatly missed, perhaps more than we currently realize.
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This interview is the first of a multi-part series with Hall of Fame Kicker Morten Andersen sponsored by Bet Pennsylvania.