Jaguars Sign Punter Dustin Colquitt Off Buccaneers' Practice squad
The Jacksonville Jaguars have added a 16-year veteran punter and former Super Bowl champion as their newest specialist.
The Jaguars signed punter Dustin Colquitt off of Tampa Bay's practice squad, giving them a new option at the position following Logan Cooke being placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list earlier this week.
Colquitt is a two-time Pro Bowler and won the Super Bowl as a member of the Kansas City Chiefs last season. He was originally drafted by Kansas City in the third round of the 2005 NFL Draft and spent 15 years with the team. He signed with Pittsburgh on Sept. 7, 2020 before joining Tampa Bay’s practice squad on Dec. 18, 2020.
Colquitt has punted 20 times this year for 861 yards (43.1 yards per punt) with a long 59. In 2019, he punted 48 times for 2,126 yards, giving him 44.3 yards per punt. He was named to the Pro Bowl in 2012 and 2016.
Jacksonville had to make a quick adjustment to its punting process against the Baltimore Ravens last weekend. Cooke was ruled out for the game on Saturday and did not travel with the team to Baltimore, leading to kicker Aldrick Rosas having to handle both punting and kicking duties and tight end Tyler Davis having to move to holder for kicks.
Jacksonville went for it on fourth down on three different occasions in Week 15, while Rosas also had a punt blocked.
"We were looking at, or I was looking at, the analytics of it for gain of field position, where Aldrick was as far as punting, fourth-and. So basically, we kind of expanded that zone more so, where if you’re looking at fourth-and-6 or less, you have a 40 percent chance of really making it. And if we go more than that, then obviously the number decreases and you’ve got to make some decisions," Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone said after Sunday's 40-14 loss.
"So I guess my point is, obviously like anything, you make adjustments when things occur. Did I feel forced to do that? No, I just thought that was the best chance for our team to win the game. And I want to make sure that just because Logan wasn’t able to play, that didn’t cost us the game. I mean, I know we all understand that. But to answer your point, if you have those things occur, you have to adjust."