After completing training camp with the Broncos, rookie punter Britton Colquitt is returning to the club for the stretch run.
Denver announced the signing of Colquitt to its active roster on Wednesday from Miami’s practice squad. Colquitt entered the league with the Broncos as a college free agent on April 27, but was waived on Sept. 1, just before final roster cutdowns.
The rookie was out of football until Dec. 22, when the Dolphins came calling. Colquitt spent the holidays in the Florida sun, but admitted that it was difficult to remember that they were coming.
“I almost forgot about Christmas when I was down there because it is 80 degrees and there are no Christmas trees,” Colquitt said. “It is just palm trees with lights on them but being a Jimmy Buffett fan I kind of liked that — it was kind of cool.”
Colquitt’s surprise regarding the warm weather sights quickly shifted to surprise regarding his move to Denver. He made the 1,720-mile trip from Miami to the Mile High City, reuniting with a coaching staff that molded him out of the collegiate gate.
“(Special teams coordinator Mike) Priefer and I, we had a good thing going when I was here — working with him, he improved me a lot and everything like that,” Colquitt said. “Just kind of how the league is, I guess I’m learning you just never know what is going to happen and always have to stay ready.”
The Broncos were ready to bring Colquitt back after seeing strong signs in the preseason. The rookie appeared in three contests, booting six punts for 246 yards, with four of those kicks landing inside the 20-yard line. Colquitt also showed his versatility against the Seahawks on Aug. 22, converting a 39-yard field goal at Qwest Field.
As for what his role will be during the rest of 2009, Colquitt said he’s not necessarily sure, but plans to contribute in as many ways as possible. Head Coach Josh McDaniels said Mitch Berger will still handle the punting duties, but that Colquitt adds depth to improve the roster.
“He was a guy that we’re familiar with, so we felt like it was a good time to do that with the roster spot open,” McDaniels said. “We didn’t really have another guy who we felt like, at this point in time, we were going to bring in and send to the game. We felt like we improved our team there.”
A product of the University of Tennessee, Colquitt appeared in 43 games for the Volunteers, punting 209 times for 8,897 yards. Of those kicks, 73 landed inside the 20-yard line and only one was blocked. Colquitt also handled kickoff duties during his time in the SEC.
While he has yet to appear in an NFL game, Colquitt envisions Wednesday’s signing as paving a path toward a future in Denver.
“For right now it is more of a future thing,” Colquitt said. “To be here in the offseason program and not just come in where I was at the end of the summer, but at the beginning of the summer with everybody else.”
That future could include some games against another talented punter in the Colquitt family. Britton’s older brother, Dustin, is averaging 40.5 net yards on 93 punts for the rival Kansas City Chiefs this season. He is also tied for the NFL lead with 39 punts inside the 20-yard line.
During much of his free time before signing with the Dolphins, Britton said he was in Kansas City helping Dustin care for his two children, with a third on the way. Come Sunday, the brothers expect to meet and greet before their teams’ Week 17 battle.
As for squaring off in the same contest, that might be a little ways away.
“I’ll at least get to say hi to him because I’m probably not dressing,” Britton said. “But it would be a cool thing and of course my dad would like it. But I think there is a future where maybe, and hopefully that could happen.”
More news from Dove Valley, including reaction from the five Broncos who made the 2010 Pro Bowl and the Week 17 Injury Report, will be posted later this afternoon.
After a walkthrough on Christmas Day, the Broncos were back outside at Dove Valley on Wednesday for a full practice. Below are some photos from the session.
– Chris Gentilviso, DenverBroncos.com
Tags: Britton Colquitt, Kansas City Chiefs, Roster Moves, Week 17
I guess Bowlen had enough of watching Berger stink it up since he was signed. What a terrible move that was. I really think it had an effect on the chemistry of our team. Just retire Berger, you don’t have the leg anymore dude.
ha that is good… i cant stand to watch berger punt! especially after he had that 12 yard punt
Good news there, Berger is too inconsistent. Good luck Colquitt, show you’re brother that you’re the better punter.
So I think this game will give us a little more trouble than the first meeting with KC because they’ll have Bowe. I also think that Moreno will break 1000 yds because he only needs 103 and KC is 31st against the run I think. We still need to put it all on the line this Sunday.
Go Broncos!!!!
Berger was a good punter when the Broncos were backed up on their 20 yard line or behind that, but if the Broncos were on their 40 or midfield is where he shanked a lot of them
Yup…I thought Kern was doing well…I liked colquitt in the preseason so im glad he is back bu tkern woulda been my punter of choice….thats when eveythign went down hill….when we dropped kern and williams….better than berger and law and they had more chemistry with the team.
Well he must be good if he is a Britton.
Glad to see him back and wish Berger well in his retirement.
Thank god Berger is gone. I know he did what he could do, but that area of the kicking game was so inconsistent…young talent could spark improvement, but we have to be patient and realistic..
PS. Thanks Santa…I’ll cross this one off my list! LOL!
I didn’t mind the signing of Ty Law I just didn’t like they waived Jack Williams even though he surpassed Alphonso Smith on the depth chart if anything Smith should of been placed on the practice squad just my opinion.
okay before we get excited does anyone know if colquitt is actully gonna start (lets all cross our fingers he does). berger doesn’t have the leg anymore but one thing we might lose with berger is his ability to keep it away from return weapons like desean jackson last week not that the chiefs have one but maybe in the playoffs if we get there. on a different topic the chiefs could provide a very tough battle for us cuz they got dewayne bowe back.
Good Luck and I hate how the NFL made Bengals-Jets game Sunday Night now i gotta wait till then. the suspense will kill me
Called this one.
I think Colquitt can do the damn thing.
Go Orange and Blue!
iwowa-bronco, I don’t think we would sign a punter if Berger wasn’t going to be waived. So I bet its pretty safe to say that Colquitt will be the punter on Sunday.
yeah i would love to see colquitt totally get all the punts and kicka$$ in this game vs. kc
Berger has had a few good punts but a lot that were shanked off the side of his foot for 20 yds or less. If we ever for some crazy reason need to punt from within the red zone, Berger would pin them on the 1 yd line for sure. LOL!!!!
YES!!!!! i disliked the hamburger hahaha
so which of the following scenarios is the best for the broncos?
DEN win + NYJ loss or tie + BAL loss or tie
DEN win + NYJ loss or tie + PIT loss or tie
DEN win + NYJ loss or tie + HOU win
DEN win + BAL loss or tie + PIT loss or tie
DEN win + BAL loss or tie + HOU win
DEN loss + PIT loss + BAL loss + HOU loss + JAC loss
DEN loss + PIT loss + BAL loss + HOU loss + NYJ loss
DEN loss + PIT loss + BAL loss + JAC loss + NYJ loss
DEN loss + PIT loss + HOU loss + JAC loss + NYJ loss
DEN loss + MIA loss or tie + NYJ loss + BAL loss + HOU loss + JAC loss or tie
I would prefer a win so lets cross off the bottom five. Houston plays NE who lets hope rests brady, moss and welker so Houston wins…i dont think we can count on the raiders to beat the ravens but I will root for them anyway dolphins – steelers game could be a good game since both are fighting for spots…and if the bengals rest palmer and other starters jets should win…so heres to hoping texans win and raiders beat ravens!
Prediction:
Den 37
KC 14
I think that if NE wants to hold on to the #3 seed, they will play to win against Houston, if they don’t win, Cincy can gain the #3 seed with a win against the Jets, so we really need Houston to beat NE so Cincy will try to beat the Jets to get the #3 seed. If this doesn’t happen, I’d say our chances are pretty slim. Therefore, our best scenario is DEN win + NYJ loss or tie + HOU win IMO.
Actually broncofan even if the Pats lose they win the tie breaker over Cinci.
Also McDaniels said that Berger will punt Sunday, but at least we have a decent punter if we do get into the play offs.
Cody-I think our best chances are Jets loss plus Pittsburgh loss.
Even though Cinci will most likely rest their starters I think they have the best chance of helping us get into the play offs.
Oakland has upset a lot of teams so we shouldn’t count them out for beating the Ravens. Tom Cable needs a win if he wants to keep his job, plus they would have the opportunity to knock a team out of the play offs.
Also we can’t forget about Houston, no doubt they’ll rest Brady, Moss, and Welker since they’ve locked up that 3 seed.
It doesn’t matter which two loses if we don’t take care of business on Sunday.
Defy,
If NE loses they will be 10-6 and if Cincy wins they will be 11-5 so no tie breaker would be needed. Cincy would gain the #3 seed if this happens.
I think our pets chance is Jets loss Houston Win as well
From the way Chad Ochocinco is talking smack to Revis, It sounds like starters will be playing for the Bengals….and Houston is also playing for a spot so they will go all out against the patriots.
PITS could lose to MIA but I doubt Ravens lose to Raiders IMO
Personally don’t care if we make the playoffs…pray we do but all we had to do was beat oakland but we couldnt and we couldn’t come back agaisnt Eagles…and KC is a gimme but who knows…..
The Jets will get another victory handed to them if Houston doesn’t beat NE. We all better be rooting for Houston Sunday if we want the Broncos to get a wild card.
That’s right for some reason I thought NE had a game over them, so hopefully Cinci won’t rest their starters to soon. Still have to depend on Houston winning and Pitts and Ravens losing. Oh and us winning of course.
Ravens @ Raiders
Steelers @ Dolphins
Patriots @ Texans
Chiefs @ Broncos
Bengals @ Jets
All the teams we want to win are at home…and all the teams we want to lose are on the road with the exception of Bengals/Jets….but if both ravens and steelers lose…Bengals/Jets game becomes irrelevant.
funny thing is…if everyone loses (ourselves included)….we STILL get in lmao…this is so ridiculous
Like they say: “Any given Sunday…..” You never know what will happen for sure. I hate rooting for the Raiders, but, I hope they beat the Ravens, but not very likely since the Raiders can gain a better draft pick if they lose and would NEVER want to help the Broncos get into the playoffs, I doubt they win this one.
Glad to see Colquitt back on the team. Especially after letting go Kern for Berger, what a mistake that was. Berger is horrible. 12 yards…..Really? My 6 year old neice could punt farther than 12 yards!!!
About best scenario for us to get in, It sounds like everyone read my post this morning. LOL.
Re-post:
baylinorcrush says:
December 30, 2009 at 7:58 am
A couple things I wanted to say:
Congrats to Doom, the new Denver Broncos sack record holder with 17, one more than Simon Fletcher had in 1992 I believe.
Best shot for us to get in the playoffs:
First order of business, as brian said, win against KC, then
1) In the early game Houston wins at home against N-E, so that
2) In the night game Cinci has the motivation for the third seed to beat the Jets (if N-E wins the early game they get the third seed, so Cinci plays their B team that night as they play for zero, zilch, nada, nothing).
Otherwise, we have to hope for a loss by 2 of the 3 following teams, Baltimore, Jets, Pittsburgh. Worse odds, IMO.
On a down note: Only two teams in the league have a worse record than us in the last 9 games, Detroit and the Rams, so that’s what we would go into the playoffs with…. And some folks here say we would be feared by everyone if we got into the playoffs…. I hope they know what they are talking about….
Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Berger sucks, not to be mean but thank god someone did something now we need to release him. NOW!@!!!!!!!!!
Also posted this morning about the Raiders winning their game, it seems like there is a lot of echo in here, LOL.
Re-post:
baylinorcrush says:
December 30, 2009 at 8:13 am
brian, you really think Al Davis would like to help us make the playoffs? and get a worse draft pick in the process? I doubt it, but hope I’m wrong.
About Berger, let’s give him credit where it is due, since he has been holding for Prater, I think he only missed one FG, which was one of the reason Kern was let go, I think Berger will at least hold on FG’s this Sunday, so he will not yet be cut, IMO.
Prater missed 4 with Kern holding.
It was one missed FG in nine games with Berger holding.
and 4 missed FG in six games with Kern holding.
I am not defending Berger, I am just saying there are multiple ways to contribute as a punter, but on the whole he was aweful, agreed.
I just read that Marshall injured his hamstring…I hope it isnt serious because if we do make the playoffs and no Marshall there is no hope
http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_14095074
There is the link in case people are curious
Not good news at all indeed, hamstring pull take time to heel, the fact that it made him kneel down after he grabbed it and then limped off the field is not a good sign at all. Bummer.
Since Sunday we have been running a medical ward, our situation at WR’S is getting pretty bleak, if Marshall can’t go, we would be down to Gaffney, Stockley and Lloyd, that’s it I believe, unless Royal comes back.
With us not able to run the ball for the last few weeks, and now possibly short handed at WR’s, we should worry more about how we are going to win this game offensively, rather than thinking of what other teams should do for us to get in. Let’s not forget, we have yet to beat a division opponent at home this season. This doesn’t look good.
Cody, you might of placed your pick too early. LOL.
It doesnt sound good for BMarsh.. I hope he’s ok, gotta wait for the injury report.
I think Cincy will play their starters. Marvin Lewis said they will play to win the game and Ochocinco said as long as Revis is in the game Ocho will be in the game.
any good FA WRs out there? lets just hope its a slight pull not a tear
Kern’s net punting average was 35. Bergers, before the Eagles, 39.7. He’s inconsistant, but still significantly better than Kern was. Glad to see Colquitt back as I felt he and Kern were essentially equal in pre-season. Hopefully, he’s picked up a pointer or two and can nail down the punting job in ’10. Berger is not what we want for out future punting game.
Broncos 20 Chiefs 16
Personally, I just want us to finish the regular season with a win which would be the best thing that could happen for me. Then we can wait and see what happens with the other teams because you guys are giving me a headache with all of the they need to lose or tie or they need to beat someone else or so on or so on. LOL!!
Go Broncos and Dismantle the Chiefs. Broncos win 23- 13
Vincent Jackson, Braylon Edwards, Kevin Walter, Miles Austin, Antonio Bryant, Derrick Mason, Steve Breaston. Those are top free agent WR’s ( excluding Marshall )
Cdudbronc24 -
I meant available now….i guess I should have clarified! If Marshall and Royal are out….I do not like the odds there
We sign Colquitt and then McD says Booger will punt against KC on sunday? I’m really confused, why even sign the guy?
I remember when Mitch Booger starred in that movie “revenge of the nerds”. That guy can really belch….
They might activate Matthew Willis (WR) from the practice squad.
OC, I think it’s really a move for next season, he wanted to get him back before anyone else did. Plus I heard Colquitt say he might do some KO’S to release Prater from the double duty, so he can keep his leg for FG’s. I’m like you, it all sounds a little weird, just like Booger, come to think of it. LOL.
So i decided to check up on a really random stat/record…..Most Touchbacks in an NFL season
The most touchbacks in a season belongs Lin Elliott, who had 27 in 1992.
Matt Prater is currently at 25 (tied with David Buehler DAL), with 1 more game to play….I say, he can TIE or BREAK the record….In significant record? maybe….since you never hear about it….but he has giving us great field position all year and nulified great returners such Sproles. Jackson, Cribbs…etc..
Baylin,
Point being…Colquitt could take over KO duties from Prater…But i would rather have Prater do it because he is doing a fabulous Job. If it wasn’t for Nate Kaeding….He woulda been the AFC Pro Bowl Kicker because he is 29/34 which is 3rd in the NFL behind Akers….and Nate who is 29/32.
TRB, I agree with you Prater has done an excellent job of kicking it deep this year except during like the 3rd to the 7th game or something when he no longer could kick them in the end zone, remember? Anyhow, cool kicking stats you came up with, thanks, but you know no one would give him the due credit even if he breaks that 27 record, because they’ll say of course it was done in the thin air of Mile High. You do have a man crush on Prater, Marshall’s gonna get jaleous, LOL.
TheRoyalBeast-
I was looking at the same touchback stat for a project I am doing but according to the Elias Stats Bureau the record for most touchbacks in a season is 46 by Jason Hanson in 1993. Right now, Prater is tied for 20th. Just thought I would let you know since I was looking at the same stat.