Steve Smith and Keary Colbert at 2006 practice (uscfootball.com)

In the last couple days the free agency rip tide has dragged many NFL players out to sea, some will disappear forever, while others will wash up in the most unlikely of places. Caught in the latest franchise whirlpool is former USC and Carolina Panthers wide-receiver Keary Colbert. The 2004 second-round pick just washed up on shore in Denver, Colorado where he’s rumored to have picked up a three-year, $7million deal with the receiver depleted Broncos.

Colbert started 15 games as a rookie, hauled in 754 yards and connected for five touchdowns. But in the last couple years Colbert has slowed down to a crawl. Colbert sat on the back-burner for the last two seasons hampered by knee and ankle injuries, and when he did play earned a bad reputation for buttery-fingers.

Hopefully, Colbert will return to the prominence he had at USC, with back to back 1000+ seasons ending his collegiate career.