Pittsburgh Steelers sign longtime Chiefs punter Dustin Colquitt

Longtime Chiefs punter Dustin Colquitt has found a home with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

After 15 seasons serving as the punter for the Kansas City Chiefs, Dustin Colquitt is going to look a bit odd wearing the colors of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2020. However, the good news is that Mike Tomlins team has given Colquitt a place to continue to his NFL career as one of the longest-tenured players still around.

The Chiefs released Colquitt earlier this offseason in a bit of a surprising move that rid of the locker room of the longest-tenured player on the Chiefs roster. Colquitt was the team’s third round pick back in the 2005 NFL Draft and had never given up the post until this past offseason.

For years, Colquitt had such a strong hold on the Chiefs punting job that the team never even bothered to bring in an ounce of competition until the 2018 offseason when undrafted rookie Jack Fox was signed to provide some push in the preseason. This offseason, the writing was on the wall when Brett Veach brought in former Notre Dame punter Tyler Newsome and then offered a sizable signing bonus to former Florida punter Tommy Townsend.

This offseason was supposed to feature a “true competition” for the Chiefs between Townsend and Newsome but the COVID-19 affected preseason gave way to an internal decision for Townsend instead. Colquitt, meanwhile, understandably struggled to come to grips with his release and stated he was ready to retire if given just one more year with the team.

Fortunately Colquitt, who is still a very steady performer, will get another chance to show what he can do with another team used to winning. As Ben Roethlisberger returns from injury, it will be interesting to see just how good the Steelers can be after a frustrating season in 2019.

Colquitt, who is now 38 years old, averaged 44.3 yards per punt in 2019 for the Chiefs.