Dustin Colquitt admits release from KC Chiefs is ‘tough’

Dustin Colquitt admitted via Twitter that his goodbye to the Kansas City Chiefs was not his doing and that the release was “tough” to stomach.

The initial goodbye posted by Dustin Colquitt on social media looked like a well-thought out statement from a player who, after 15 years of excellence at his craft with the same team, decided to call it a career. Instead, Colquitt made clear on Twitter after the fact that the decision to part ways with the Kansas City Chiefs was “not my terms.”

“This is tough” is the admission from Colquitt with regards to his surprise release from the team this offseason. If there’s any comfort at all in others feeling the same, Colquitt should know he won’t be alone in that sentiment (or shock).

In some ways, the writing has been on the wall for the last two offseasons. Colquitt has never once had any single ounce of competition for his job for the first 13 years—ever since he was first selected in the third round of the 2005 NFL Draft. (Of course, if you’re drafting a punter as high as the third round, you’d better not need any competition for quite some time.) The rare move to select a punter so early worked out all this time, as Colquitt has put up two Pro Bowl seasons and a steady career in K.C. for well over a decade.

Back to the competition. Last year, the Chiefs brought in rookie free agent Jack Fox as an impressive young player and he looked the part. In the end, Colquitt ended up the punter and it seemed to be an exercise in just kicking the tires on a young option in case of injury. Fox went on to sign with the Detroit Lions.

This offseason, however, the emphasis has grown even stronger. Not only did the Chiefs bring in another punter early for the sake of competition in Tyler Newsome, but then they even added Florida’s Tommy Townsend as a rookie free agent, giving the Chiefs three punters at once. It was clear then that either the competition was very real or something was happening.

Given Colquitt’s statement on Instagram, it looked at first like the Chiefs were trying to find options to compete for a retiring team hero, but that’s apparently not the case. Colquitt sounds like he has more in the tank and a desire to compete, however the Chiefs have apparently already moved on.

Hats off to Colquitt for a wonderful career in red and gold, and while it would be weird to see him in any other uniform, we certainly wish him the best if he attempts to further his career elsewhere.