Tag: Britton Colquitt

Report: Britton Colquitt anticipates he will re-sign with the Vikings

“They’ve made it clear, we believe, they want to make a deal before free agency.” Britton Colquitt expects to be back with the Vikings.

Punter Britton Colquitt is a free agent, but he thinks the Vikings will lock him down before he even enters the market for other teams.

“We, my agent and my family, we believe in the Vikings,” Colquitt told the Pioneer Press. “They’ve made it clear, we believe, they want to make a deal before free agency.”

According to the Star Tribune, Colquitt said he “honestly had the best year of my career” after a career-high 42.6 net yards on a career-low 62 punts in the 2019 regular season. The Star Tribune rated his season performance a four on a five-point scale.

Colquitt told the Pioneer Press that his agent suggested a three-year contract, with two years guaranteed, and the Vikings are on board with that. The Pioneer Press hypothesized that the deal would average between $2 million and $3 million per season.

Colquitt is coming off a very solid year, and he doesn’t break the bank when it comes to a contract. The Vikings should definitely pursue him this offseason and figure out a deal.

Lions have several options at punter to replace free agent Sam Martin

Lions have several options at punter to replace free agent Sam Martin

Sam Martin has been a reliably above-average punter for most of his seven NFL seasons, all with the Detroit Lions. But Martin is a pending free agent and in all likelihood will not be back for an eighth year in Detroit.

The Lions will have several options to replace Martin, who ranks 10th all-time in average yards per punt at 46.0. In fact, the solution might already be in Detroit.

Earlier this offseason the Lions signed two free agent punters to reserve/future contracts. Jack Fox and Matt Wile deserve to compete for the job, and both are familiar with the team already. Fox and Wile both had stints on the team’s practice squad in 2019.

Fox gets a leg up (no pun intended) because, like Martin, he’s capable of also being the kickoff specialist. That’s important because placekicker Matt Prater does not handle kickoff duties all that well.

In free agency, veterans Britton Colquitt, Matt Bosher and Lac Edwards are all on the market with Martin. Edwards led the NFL in both punt attempts and yards in 2019 while booming kicks at a 45.9-yard average for the New York Jets. Colquitt, 35, spent last season with the Minnesota Vikings and has earned his reputation for being the best coffin-corner punter in the NFL over his long career.

It’s unlikely the Lions will draft a punter, though that was also said back in 2013 when then-GM Martin Mayhew tabbed Martin in the sixth round. Some of the top-rated punters in the 2020 NFL Draft include Joseph Charlton of South Carolina, Texas A&M’s Braden Mann and Arryn Siposs from Auburn, whom the Lions saw in person at the Tigers pro day last week.

Dustin Colquitt joins brother, father as Super Bowl champion

Dustin Colquitt joins brother, father as Super Bowl champion.

MIAMI — When the Kansas City Chiefs walked off the field at Hard Rock Stadium with a 31-20 comeback victory over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV, VFL and Bearden High School graduate Dustin Colquitt became the third member of his family to play for a team to win the Big Game.

Colquitt, who averaged 50 yards on his two punts and pinned the 49ers inside their own 20-yard line once and served as Kansas City’s holder, joins his father Craig and brother Britton as family members to win Super Bowl championships.

All three members of the Colquitt family were punters.

Craig, who attended South High School in Knoxville, won a pair of  back-to-back titles with the Pittsburgh Steelers (1978-79). He played for the Steelers from 1978-84. After a brief hiatus from the NFL, he finished his NFL career with Indianapolis in 1987.

Craig and his nephew Jimmy both punted for Tennessee. Jimmy played briefly in the NFL for the Seattle Seahawks in 1985, appearing in just two games. He was an All-American standout for the Volunteers in 1982 and 1983.

Britton Colquitt, who now punts for the Minnesota Vikings, is also a Bearden High School product. He won Super Bowl 50 as a member with the Denver Broncos.

Dustin, who was an All-American at Tennessee, has spent his entire professional career in Kansas City.