Dustin Colquitt released by Pittsburgh Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers have released former Chiefs punter Dustin Colquitt.

Dustin Colquitt’s stint with the Kansas City Chiefs made him the longest-tenured player during the team’s Super Bowl run in 2019. His time with the Pittsburgh Steelers was much shorter. Per NFL reporter James Palmer, the Steelers have released Colquitt after only five games with the team.

Colquitt first signed a one-year contract worth just over $1 million with the Steelers in early September. However the team had been frustrated by their special teams play, and head coach Mike Tomlin had pointed out the punting concerns earlier this week by saying, “I acknowledge that our punting is not up to snuff and that we have to get better in that area and we are willing to do whatever is required in an effort to do so.”

The Chiefs released Colquitt from the team in late April after reaching terms on a deal to bring in rookie free agent Tommy Townsend from the University of Florida. At the time, Tyler Newsome was also on the roster and the Chiefs looked like they were creating as much competition on the roster as possible for the role of punter. Then came Colquitt’s unexpected release.

From there, Colquitt stated that he was surprised and that he was planning to retire after one more year in K.C. already. However, the Chiefs decided to not only forgo the competition with Newsome and Townsend, but they selected the latter outright for the role heading into training camp.

Colquitt played for 15 seasons in Kansas City after the team drafted him in the third round of the 2005 NFL Draft.