Dustin Colquitt, Longest Tenured Chief, Released

After 15 long seasons, Dustin Colquitt is no longer a Kansas City Chief.

The veteran punter was a third round pick in 2005 out of the University of Tennessee. Colquitt was the longest tenured Chief before the release. Now, no one on the roster was with the team before Andy Reid became the head coach in 2013.

End Of An Era

He confirmed the release via his Instagram on Tuesday morning.

“I have enjoyed my time in Chiefs Kingdom, all things come to an end, sometimes sooner than you hoped, prayed and pleaded for them to.

I’ll miss walking into the building and smelling the coffee, talking to everyone. It took me forever to weave through some of the most loving people you’d ever hope to work with. I was a young kid when I first walked into Arrowhead. Hell, the indoor facility used to be 70 yards long. Holding this post for 15 years has been an honor that I never took for granted. Thank you KC.”

Chiefs fans and teammates expressed their gratitude to Dustin Colquitt with thanks and stories. Reid called him “one of the greatest Chiefs of all time.”

Throughout his career with the Kansas City Chiefs, Colquitt broke numerous records, including a franchise record for longest punt of 81 yards (2007). He also has the franchise record for games played by any position (238). Don’t forget about his franchise record for punts (1,124) and punting yards (50,393).

Finally in the all time NFL ranks, Dustin Colquitt has the third most punts downed inside the 20 yard line (462). Only Jeff Feagles and Shane Lechler have done it more times than him.

Community Leader

Off the field, this Chiefs player took pride in caring for the Kansas City community. Colquitt was nominated for the Walter Payton Man of the Year on three different occasions (2013, 2018, 2019). His work and leadership for TeamSmile and Fuel Up to Play 60 should not go unnoticed. The punter also was a leader for Athletes in Action and Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Dustin Colquitt has continued to show dedication to Kansas City youth, and he is currently on the TeamSmile Board of Directors. This foundation helps to provide for children in need of dental care.

Colquitt spoke about being nominated for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award this past season.

“Over the past 15 seasons with the club, I have learned the fastest way to make our NFL communities a better place to live, work and play is to spend time with the people who make this a special place, uplift those with the greatest need, and be generous with things we have been gifted with. After spending time around the Payton family last year, I realized they graced us with the blueprint on how to make the communities we love a better place.”

Ending On A High Note

Whether it was a salary cap situation that led to the release of Dustin Colquitt, or a slight dip in production, he got to go out and end his Chiefs run in style. The team won their first home playoff game in a quarter of a century and hosted the AFC Championship Game for the first time after the 2018 campaign. This past postseason, Colquitt and the Chiefs brought the Lamar Hunt trophy back home. With an AFC Championship Game win, Kansas City moved on to the Super Bowl for the first time in 50 years. He was able to get that one Super Bowl ring to cap it all off.

– Braden Holecek is the Kansas City Chiefs managing editor for Full Press Coverage. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @ebearcat9 //platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Follow @FPC_Chiefs //platform.twitter.com/widgets.js and Facebook.