'Wait, it's a COVID thing': Browns punter Dustin Colquitt goes from casualty to benefactor

BEREA — On Monday, Dustin Colquitt was lamenting his release by the Atlanta Falcons, a move set in motion when he tested positive for COVID-19. Thirty-six hours after he got home, the script was flipped.

On Friday, the Browns signed Colquitt to take over for punter Jamie Gillan, placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list Thursday ahead of Sunday’s crucial home game against the Baltimore Ravens.

“It’s interesting. I was kicking really well in Atlanta, and you wind up on the COVID list and then you’re not with the team and you’re complaining, you’re, ‘Wait, it’s a COVID thing.’ Then it happens again and you’re like, ‘Oh, now I’m the benefactor,’” Colquitt said after practice.

The Falcons signed former New Orleans Saints punter Thomas Morstead on Nov. 23, the day after Colquitt was placed on the list, and elected to stick with Morstead.

Colquitt, 39, doesn’t know if that scenario could be repeated in Cleveland. Gillan has been erratic during his third season with the Browns and his dropped snap in the season opener at Kansas City was the key play in a 33-29 loss.

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Colquitt said the Browns gave him no indication about his future. Colquitt spent 15 seasons with the Chiefs, which included 2006-08 with Browns special teams coordinator Mike Priefer. Colquitt said he talked to Priefer’s wife — “Miss Debbie” — on the phone Friday morning.

Coach Kevin Stefanski said the Browns’ comfort level with a 17-year veteran was a factor in the decision.

“I think so. With the specialists in particular … you have veterans in those roles oftentimes who have been there and done that,” Stefanski said. “With him, he has a good understanding of what we do. Coach Prief worked with him, so there is a familiarity there, as well.”

Asked what the Browns told him, Colquitt said, "‛Be ready for Sunday.’ That’s everybody in this building, really. I woke up this morning, prayed, was thankful to have another opportunity to come out here and punt.”

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Colquitt’s brother, Britton, was the Browns punter from 2016-18. He lost the job to Gillan, signed in May 2019 as an undrafted free agent out of Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

“I wish him well, Jamie’s fun to watch,” Colquitt said of Gillan. “I love watching other lefties, there’s not a whole lot of us. He’s young, powerful. He’s done a good job here.”

Colquitt said he’d already texted and planned to talk to former Browns kicker Phil Dawson, who spent 14 seasons in Cleveland starting in 1999. The two met at the 2012 Pro Bowl, Dawson’s only selection; Colquitt also went in 2016.

“Phil knows everything about this thing. I’m surprised he doesn’t have a suite, a room in there, he was here for so long,” Colquitt said.

There will be an adjustment with long snapper Charley Hughlett, Colquitt said. He will also hold for kicker Chase McLaughlin on field goals.

“Charley, you don’t have to do much, he’s one of the best in the league, has done it really well for a long time,” Colquitt said. “He’s a no-look snapper, so that’s a little bit different. You’re used to usually [seeing] face mask and then ball snap, this is just nothing and the ball is just coming. And getting used to exactly what Chase wants. I feel like if [I] do my job right, then he should have a chance of hitting every field goal that he attempts. That’s what I want him to feel.”

The 2019 Super Bowl champion Chiefs released Colquitt before the 2020 season, and he appeared in one game with the Jacksonville Jaguars and five more with the Pittsburgh Steelers last year.

At home in Kansas City, Colquitt and his wife, Christia, have five children, four boys and a girl in the middle, ranging in age from 15 to 8. His wife teaches sixth-grade math and science. Sons Brinkley and Colston punt, following in the footsteps of their dad, uncle and grandfather, Craig, who punted for seven years in the NFL and won Super Bowls in 1978-79 with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“My dad, their grandad is always over there. ‘We don’t throw stuff, we kick stuff.’ That’s his big thing,” Colquitt said.

Being away from his family is difficult even as they try to attend many of his games, but Colquitt said he’s not ready to retire.

“As long as I’m getting calls, I want to play. My body feels good. I feel like my mind’s still sharp and into it,” he said. “I want to help kickers, snappers. As long as I’m helping out on the field, I want to do it.

“I look around at fraternity brothers, people I’ve grown up with, and I always say, ‘Would they field that call and go?’ Absolutely. So I do, every time.”

Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/browns. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ.