Don’t be so sure Dustin Colquitt will be back with the Chiefs

The Chiefs’ push to get younger doesn’t extend to punters, at least according to Dustin Colquitt, who joined Fescoe in the Morning on 610 Sports Radio Thursday.

The 35-year-old Colquitt, who, like Derrick Johnson, the Chiefs selected in the 2005 NFL Draft, sounded confident he would be back.

“I’m very hopeful,” Colquitt said. “Of course, my answer’s yes. [The Chiefs] said they would love to have me back, and so I think it just comes down to the business side of things.”

Colquitt’s last contract with the Chiefs was a five-year deal worth nearly $19 million, which made him the highest paid punter in the league.

The interesting part here is that with his performance last season and over his career, he probably deserves a similar contract this time around. The punter position is different in the sense that 35 is still young and many punters play into their 40s. Colquitt’s representatives will also likely argue he is one of the best punters in the history of the game.

I do wonder what the Chiefs will do here, as they reportedly did work out punters last May and in late December.

Other than Colquitt, Cincinnati’s Kevin Huber, Houston’s Shane Lechler and Chicago’s Pat O’Donnell are all set to hit the free-agent market as well. Seven punters were invited to this year’s NFL Scouting Combine.

My thought is if there is someone the Chiefs really like (hint-hint: Harrison Butker) in the draft, Colquitt will be gone.

Until things shake out, Colquitt told the 610 morning show he’s headed out to Surprise, Arizona.

“In the meantime, I’m going to try to trickle into spring training and sit on first base until (Eric) Hosmer’s ready to come back,” he said. “That sounds like a pretty good deal there.”