Chiefs Punter Dustin Colquitt Sends Emotional Goodbye to Chiefs Fans on Instagram After KC Released Him

The Kansas City Chiefs have come to a surprise settlement on their longest-tenured player.

On Tuesday, punter Dustin Colquitt posted an emotional Instagram which confirmed that the Chiefs released him after 15 seasons with the team.

View this post on Instagram

I have enjoyed my time in Chiefs Kingdom, all things come to an end, sometimes sooner than you hoped, prayed & pleaded for them to. I’ll miss walking into the building & 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. Holding this post for 15 years has been an honor that I never took for granted. Thank you KC

A post shared by Dustin Colquitt (@dqp47) on Apr 27, 2020 at 9:44pm PDT

Colquitt's post suggests that he did not see his release coming. He, like most fans in Kansas City, probably assumed that he'd finish his career with the franchise. That leads us to be believe he's simply another example of a salary cap casualty.

Those come around often immediately following the NFL Draft as teams have to pay their new rookies, and the Chiefs are severely limited in terms of their cap room. As of this writing, KC has less than $1 million to work with. Cutting Colquitt will save the organization $2 million in 2020, which was the final year of his contract.

The 38-year-old was hardly an expensive player even though he was as consistent as any punter in the league through the years. A third-round draft pick back in 2005, Colquitt went on to appear in 238 of a possible 240 games.

The #Chiefs have released longtime punter Dustin Colquitt, source said. After 15 seasons, Colquitt said goodbye on Instagram.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) April 28, 2020

Colquitt is clearly shaken up by his release and he has every right to be. However, when he looks back at his tenure with the Chiefs, at least he can say that he went out as a Super Bowl champion.