A longtime Kansas City Chief is joining a new team.
Former Chiefs punter Dustin Colquitt is joining the Atlanta Falcons per his agent, Pro Star Sports’ Paul Sheehy. According to ESPN’s Michael Rothstein, Colquitt will join the Falcons’ practice squad and not the 53-man roster, at least not yet.
Colquitt was released by the Chiefs during the 2020 offseason after spending 15 seasons in Kansas City. Colquitt was a Chiefs team leader, a known jokester in the locker room and one of the most consistent punters in the league for many years. He went on to eventually join the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2020, where his father, Craig Colquitt, played from 1978 through 1984. Colquitt reunited with the Chiefs ahead of their 2020 playoff run, after they signed him to the practice squad. He remained on the practice squad through Super Bowl LIV.
Now, the 39-year-old punter is getting another chance to play in the NFL.
Congratulations to veteran NFL punter, 2x Pro Bowler, Super Bowl champion @DustinColquitt2 on joining the @AtlantaFalcons! pic.twitter.com/V1TTQMtc0p
— Paul Sheehy (@ProStarSports) September 21, 2021
The Falcons do have some punter problems they’re working through right now. Punter Cameron Nizialek had a poor performance in Atlanta’s loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Nizialek had two badly shanked punts and a 39.3 yard per punt average during that game.
Colquitt will, of course, bring his veteran presence and experience to the Falcons. By the looks of it, it’s desperately needed at that position. He’ll get a chance to compete with Nizialek this week during practice, either providing a push to the incumbent or beating him out for a job.
Colquitt is currently No. 8 all-time in NFL history with 51,526 punting yards. If he sticks in Atlanta, he could have a shot at cracking the top 5 in terms of punting yards in NFL history.
