In a heartfelt and symbolic gesture, longtime NFL punter Dustin Colquitt signed a one-day contract with the Kansas City Chiefs this week — not to lace up his cleats for another season, but to retire exactly where he belongs: as a Chief.
Colquitt, 43, hasn’t seen in-game action since a brief 2021 stint with the Cleveland Browns. But for most football fans — and certainly for Chiefs Kingdom — he never truly played anywhere else. Over 15 seasons in Kansas City, Colquitt defined consistency, precision, and loyalty, all while launching spiraling punts into the Missouri sky and etching his name into franchise history.
Drafted 99th overall in the third round of the 2005 NFL Draft out of Tennessee, Colquitt went on to become a staple in the Chiefs’ locker room — and the franchise’s all-time leader in games played with 238 appearances. Through it all, he delivered 1,198 punts for 53,660 yards, averaged 44.8 yards per kick, pinned 483 inside the 20-yard line, and only had six blocked in his entire career.
We have signed Dustin Colquitt to a one-day contract. He will officially retire as a Kansas City Chief ❤️
Congrats on a well-earned retirement, @dustincolquitt2! pic.twitter.com/9cWoPxY3VY
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) June 4, 2025
Perhaps most notably, Colquitt was part of the Chiefs’ Super Bowl-winning team in 2019, the long-awaited Lombardi that finally returned to Kansas City. Add in two Pro Bowl nods (2012, 2016), and it’s easy to see why his legacy as one of the league’s elite punters was never in doubt.
This week, Colquitt participated in one last practice at Chiefs OTAs, punting a final ball in full pads as his former team watched on. The team shared footage of the moment — one final left-footed bomb in Arrowhead colors — and Colquitt, emotional but composed, offered a few reflections.
“Fun to be back, got a lot of changed faces,” he said during his press conference. “I think there’s five or six guys left on that team [that I played with].”
He went on to recall how deeply embedded the franchise had become in his life. “I would still make that drive and get on [Route] 150 highway and be like, ‘Oh yeah, I don’t work there anymore.’ Which is a good thing, ’cause I got to be in these halls for a long time.”
Though he ended his career with short stints in Pittsburgh, Jacksonville, Atlanta, and Cleveland, Colquitt’s heart and legacy remained in Kansas City — a fact not lost on his former teammates. Chiefs superstar tight end Travis Kelce summed it up best in a post honoring his longtime teammate:
“THE LEFT FOOT LEGEND! Chief forever!!”
Indeed, in a league where most punters are treated like background noise, Dustin Colquitt became a fan favorite, a locker room leader, and a franchise icon — not because of flashy plays, but because of enduring excellence. His retirement isn’t just the end of a career. It’s the closing chapter in a story about loyalty, reliability, and mastering a role most never fully appreciate.
