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The Kansas City Chiefs are signing punter Dustin Colquitt to their practice squad, according to ESPN’s Field Yates.
The Chiefs are signing P Dustin Colquitt to their practice squad, per source.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) January 7, 2021
He spent the first 15 years of his career in KC and now returns for a playoff run. Always a beloved player.
After being released by the Chiefs following 15 years of service, Colquitt, 38, signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers in September — only to be let go in late October. Colquitt caught on with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers practice squad on December 18.
In need of a punter because theirs was ill before their last game, the Jacksonville Jaguars poached Colquitt and added him to their 53-man roster, but they waived him earlier this week — thus opening the door for the Chiefs.
Kansas City’s reasoning for signing Colquitt back is likely twofold.
First, why not bring back the individual who has played more games as a Chief than anyone else in NFL history? And second — the Chiefs actually were in need of an emergency specialist after the Baltimore Ravens poached practice squad punter Johnny Townsend on New Year’s Eve.
The Chiefs explained that they saw a significant benefit to an emergency specialist at the time of Johnny’s signing. That now becomes Colquitt’s role behind active punter Tommy Townsend.
“It was a really good idea by Brett Veach to bring a guy in — just in case the COVID thing hits us,” special teams coordinator Dave Toub explained to reporters of Johnny back in November. “[If it] hits one of our guys, we have a guy that’s in the building — tested — that we can just plug in there and plug and play.”
The best part?
By being back with the Chiefs — even if it’s just on the practice squad — for the playoff run, he may just get to add another Super Bowl ring to his collection.