The Denver Post reported on its Web site Saturday that the Broncos agreed to terms with wide receiver Keary Colbert, an unrestricted free agent who spent the last four seasons with the Carolina Panthers.
Colbert has 109 catches for 1,424 yards and seven touchdowns in his career to date. He had 332 yards on 32 receptions with no scores last season as the Panthers struggled with injuries and instability at quarterback, starting four different passers (Jake Delhomme, David Carr, Vinny Testaverde and Matt Moore).
Discuss below, and until the next posting, vaya con Dios.
Tags: Free Agency, Keary Colbert
Nice work! Broncos are flying under the radar and are very quietly going to be a fource next season! Time for Lynch to lift the Trophy and ride off into the sunset with Elway. FYI Elway took a pay cut and came back for his “Final” season and we found a gem in the draft named Davis and went all the way!! Go broncos
I think this is a great pick up. His stats are not great but hes never really had a QB that could get him the ball. I’m from so Cal so i saw him play alot at USC and he reminds me alot of Rod Smith. He ’s the type of guy that puts the team first and will do whatever it takes to win.
I think we could have done a little better than Colbert. Hopefully we will get better by addition by subtraction. I would have liked to see kid from Arizona. Does anyone know if we are still looking at Dewayne Robertson? We could sure use some help at DT.
I read that the Broncos’ coaches think he could be a good 3rd receiver. Excuse me, but I thought the Broncos already had a pretty good 3rd receiver. Count me as perplexed by this signing.
Colbert coming in allows Stokley to solidify his spot as a starter, but lets him slide over into the slot in three wide receiver formations, where Brandon has excelled and made himself well known.
I’m pretty sure he would 2nd string not third. Coach said he want to have stockley at slot receiver like he was supposed to have played this season. If i’m not mistaken.
well atleast the Broncos are starting to sign free agents..and this may be a good start,,,,a good back up fro Stokley…hey lets not forget that Braylon Edwards alone (w/ Winslow) carried most of the passing offense on his back for the Browns last season,,he simply stepped up….B-Marshall can do the same,,,by the start of nxt season,,Scheffler and Graham would be 100% and this will balance out the passing game,,who knows,,maybe the Broncos are saving the money to splurge in the upcoming draft,,we might be getting a burner wide-out…
however, we still need to address the defense..
gud luck Broncos..
hey this is a gud start for the Broncos..atleast their making some moves..he would be a gud back up for Stokely..remember, Braylon Edwards (w/ Winslow) carried the Brown’s passing game on his back….he just simply stepped up,,,
B-Marshall can do exactly the same,,,,by nxt season Scheffler and Graham would be 100% and this would balance out the passing game…we still need help on D….
gud luck Broncos..
The problem is that even the Broncos’ coaches have said that they don’t want Stokely to be a number 2 WR. They think he wore down last year because he had to play so much. They know that he is much more effective in the slot.
That was just a trial move on this guy. I think we have to much D. Look for Sweed to head this way come draft day. his size and speed will help marshall. I think we need one big name WR lets say either broke a$$ Moulds or Ferguson.
I’m not a big fan of this signing. I think they could have done better. I know he’s not shown he can stay healthy yet, but I think DJ Hackett would have been a much better signing. I just can’t see Colbert stepping right in and being a good #2 and that’s what we need. Stokley is not a #2 in my mind and is much better out of the slot. I think Colbert and Marshall are too similar in their styles and neither is really built to stretch the field. Not to mention I think everyone was expecting our first move to be a stout DT. I’m really upset we didn’t land Stroud.
briggs agreed to terms with the bears. Boss Bailey may be the best option but haven’t seen him play except AP breaking his ankles highlight. Is he good? (AP made a lot of LBs look bad so I’m not dissing him) It would be interesting having the bailey brothers on D. Haven’t seen Colbert play
I like this addition on offense, however we need to address our D! Does anyone even know who’s coaching our defense this year?
Since when is a back up to a slot receiver a good sign… thats garbage albeit colbert has speed to give away and still aut run a horse, but how many people come into the nfl with stupid speed but suck at football. I say bring in Johnson from arizona, so we can have some legit competion at wide receiver, instead of finding random guys at a local gym to fill the roster. Then that way we can spend the draft on gettin some o-linemen that can push the pile on the 2 yard line, so we dont have to gymic and adlib plays to get in the inzone. If the runing game is our stregnth then we need to make it strong. And i totally disagree with signing travis henry back, i would like to see us draft one of these speedy backs, like jamaal charles, or the kid from ECU, you could pick em blind fold almost and i think they could give us clinton portis like performances. Then spend the rest of our picks on D. 1 DB 1 DT and since this draft is full of demarcus ware wana be’s draft a bunch of them, maybe some play on the line maybe some just play line backer. But bottom line is We went 7-9 with no D, the offense put up plenty of points, that Deffens needs to be fixed through the draft. cause that crap that we all had to sit and watch last year was horrible, if we fix the D we get in the divison round of the play offs easy..
i really hope they lied when they said he would compete with stokely for the #2 job, stokely has to b in the slot to stay healthy. and keary colbert is not a starting Receiver. i hope hes #5 or #4 id rather see glen martinez b #2 then sotkely cuz stokely could play slot, and keary colbert is not a deep threat, glen martinez has speed to burn if u saw that 80 yard punt return for a TD against teneesee
I also don’t really think this is a great signing. B-Marsh has a huge size advantage so I was looking for Denver to go after a speedy guy like Donte Stallworth or Bernard Berrian. We really need to get a legit DT and the market’s atrating to get thin…
but at least he’s a huge step up from Glenn Martinez!
KEARY COLBERT… ID RATHER HAVE STEPHEN COLBERT
I’m feeling good about this for sure… The Broncos aren’t going to be like the Patriots last season and throw the ball 50 times a game. Our success comes from running the ball. I think Travis Henry will come full circle this year and Selvin will be the playmaking back. Colbert’s speed allows for a lot of underneath work for Stokley, Graham, or Scheffler (similar to Wes Welker’s role)… Be patient, this could be good.
I was mad at first, but i had steve smith in my fantasy football last year, so that sucked but got to see colbert play and hes a good #2 receiver at 6′1 207 with good speed and will go over the middle..and maybe we can get bryant from arizona and have b-marsh and bryant on outside and stokley and colbert as 4th option….that would make me happy as a denver fan to sign bryant….go broncos!!!!
After seeing some of his tape from his college days, I am willing to give him a shot. If he wanted to make a good first impression in the Mile High City, I think he should go work out Cutler, Marshall, and Scheffler. At least give him a chance. I do think that we should be looking at the draft for another possible late round steal. People here are talking about getting another back. Great. This year the draft is deep enough that we should be able to find what would have been a first day pick some where on day 2. IMO we need O linemen, linebacker and DT. We should continue to build a strong team and it all starts on draft day.
I hope he works out. I like Brandon Stokley at slot though, or starting.
Can u believe that we got a 3rd or 4th string WR from carolina! We should have saved money and wait till the draft and get a burner like maningham from michigan or limas sweed from texas even Devin Thomas would be a better choice then colbert!
We should work on getting a D first before wasting money on sucky WR like colbert
should get daunte stallworth that would be really good
If we sign Michael Boley, Boss Bailey and bryant johnson, we will be able to draft an OT first pick (hopefully Clady) and Kentwan Balmer second pick (a bit of a reach but crazier things have happened)
I was always a fan of Keary Colbert’s when he was at USC. If he could flourish under Norm Chow @ Troy, imagine what he can do in a sophisticated offense like Shanahan’s. This is exactly how you win championships; by procuring unheralded talents (such as Colbert) that are just as good as the big-name attractions. Keep up the good work, Broncos!
i think this could be good for us. i mean the guy is only 25 so he is still young and maybe gettin out of steves(smith) shadow will help. he seems to have descent size 6′1 200 and if he doesnt mind blocking who knows, it could be great. i mean rod was undrafted and eddie was an outcast and look what they did…so im for it. besides that im sure we didnt pay him KILLER cash.
so does anybody else think we should trade with dallas if mcfadden is still around at 12. i really dont think we need to draft that clady from boise at number 12. i think if we could trade down and get balmer from unc and laws from ND that they would have a huge impact on our team and really would help out our backers. just a thought
Colbert may not bring blazing speed, super agility or any of that but he does bring a lot. He has some of the best hands in the leauge and he’s got the unique ability to get into a defenses head, not only with some of his catches but also the way he always seems to be open 15 to 20 yards down the field. The panthers won a few games because of some of his catches. I think some consistency at the quarterback position will do wonders for Colbert. also, I agree with whoever said he’s like Rod Smith. people said a lot of the things like what I’ve read here and look how good Smith has been in Denver I think Colbert could be a steal this offseason
I think one thing we can all agree on is that Coach knows offensive talent when he sees it. Let’s give this guy a chance. Also we know Jay is going to be here for a long time. They will be building a supporting cast around him that supports his needs/talents.
We need a Legit Starting reciever. this guy is a 3rd reciever at best and Stokley is a Slot Machine.
this will not help the development of Cutler. we got alot of needs this year and no salary cap due to the spree we went on last season…
In Colbert’s 1st year with Carolina he had 47 catches for 754
yards. I’m guessing that’s what the Broncos staff was looking at when they signed him. I’ll take that yards per catch average any day! I’m gonna say if he can come anything close to that kind of performance he will be a great addition to the Bronco offense this coming season!
GO BRONCOS!
The Broncos usually muster up one good/great trade or free agent signing every off season…and although Colbert has great upside potential, this isn’t the one. Last year’s signing of Dre Bly was a bust in my opinion as we watched him get burned time and time again. Granted, he had an interception or two, but when the ball is thrown right to you - you’d better get your mitts on it! Bly is overated and overpaid and although a long shot, D’Angelo Hall wants out of Atlanta and what better offering than Dre Bly?
A good way to improve the defense besides a FA signing or the draft is to keep them off the field with an improved running game. Lorenzo Neal and Michael Turner would be a great compliment to Travis Henry. Throw in a decent WR pick-up and we’ve got what we need on offense. If opponents are always playing from behind, the defense can take advantage of desperate mistakes (see Denver Broncos 1997-98).
Bly for Hall / Lorenzo Neal, Michael Turner / DJ Hackett. THAT would be one helluvan off season!
For all of you complaining about the history of Colbert and that it’s a waste just remember Ed McCafferys history and what he meant to the Broncos. I’m not saying it’s a sure thing, but the potential is there.
Michael turner price is too high I think we should of gave up the 1st and 2nd round picks for him… how did those picks turn out any way. Id really love to see them trade up to get dorsey, but if not the guard from virgina, branden albert is the perfect player for the system, he’s agile enough to zone block, but is still big enough to bull doze people out the way. then get Quenton Groves in the second, jamaal charles in the 3rd and cliff avril in the 4th. If we can get those two we will once again have the fastest line backers in the game, I dont know what to do about tackle maybe get marcus spears from dallas and put him there, I know he actually sucks at DE but when you put him in at DT he’s actually dominant
First things first. We don’t have a 3rd round pick. Second give Colbert a chance….who knows right? PLEASE DO NOT SIGN NEAL!!! The last thing the Broncs need to do is sign a 37 year old FB. I have loved watching the guy, but he is done. We do have options though. On the OL we can get Olivea, Kwame harris or Jacob Bell. At LB there is Bailey, Landon Johnson (who posted over 100 tackles last year), and Pace is still unsigned. At safety I like Mike Doss, Tank Williams and Will Demps. All of these players are young, available, and would could make an impact right away.
I am slightly disappointed in the Broncos franchise. They didn’t try to get another threat at WR, like Bernard Berrian or Donte Stallworth, but hopefully they can grab Bryant Johnson. They haven’t go for any big d-lineman like Rod Coleman or Grady Jackson, and I know they may be close to ending their careers but they’re help. At safety they didn’t go for Erik Coleman or Atari Bigby.
Now I know it may sound as though I am extremely angered but I am still hoping for a great 7 pick draft, or maybe some good trades for great players. Who knows?
Goooooooooooooo BRONCOS!!!
I agreewith BroncoBoy2012. Denver thusfar has been disappointing in freeagency. I thought denver should have signed Stallworth. That could have given us the best recieving core in the leauge. However, I like this Colbert signing. Besides what team has turned the most no-names into Stars. Mike Shanahan knows talent, and with the contract that Colbert signed im starting to think Shanahan has seen something in Colbert that none of us have seen
I agree that it would have been nice to see Stallworth and/or Briggs added, but I am not going to complain about how the team is approaching free agency. I like this measured approach, rather than grabbing every big name out there. Remember, the offseason is just getting started, and the Broncs have a recent history of making deals right before the draft. I would love to see Turner come to town, especially considering how well he plays at Invesco, but I doubt the team will throw huge money at him, considering Henry just got a restructured deal. I know the biggest needs are everywhere on D and the O-line, but I am REALLY intrigued by Mendenhall. Physically he is a beast, and had great workouts at the combine. Built a lot like TD, but I’m not sure if he has experience in a zone blocking scheme. If the team were to snag him in the first and Owen Schmitt in later rounds, our running game would be set for years.
Think this is a great signing - You don’t want to pay a guy for past performance; Focus on what you think he’s capabale of in the future under the right circumstances. Like our approach in free agency this year and how we are being much more responsible with our signings thus far.
Another thing to remember - When Carolina went to the NFC Championship Game in ‘05, this guy started all 19 games that season. That, to me, is indicative of what he can bring us.
Also, don’t underestimate how big re-signing Ekuban is. People forget that he’s our most complete and versatile defensive lineman. When he went down in Dallas last year, I don’t think it’d be a stretch to say that his injury cost us at least a few games in 2007.
whos gonna play second wr? i dont think stokley can handle it. im not a big fan of Martinez. but this guy sounds good
Kerry “friggin” Colbert? Guys like this fall off of trees. So since most of the impact type of free agents signed on the first couple of days of free agency I guess the Broncos are content to do virtually nothing.
There are still lots of guys out there. I like this more cautious approach to free agency than the spree we had last year. I have to admit, I was having “Super” dreams last year, but I think that the Broncos were a bit irrisponsible with their spending last year. We need young, talented, hardworking team first guys. Period.
I am really sick of all these naysayers. I may be an optimist but this team is really young but still extremely talented. I believe inconsistency is our largest problem at this point, besides injuries. I have been a fan my whole life and have seen a lot less talent on the team. I think that this approach will work and we will challenge for the super bowl every year we have Mike as the head coach. He is had a recent string of bad luck but one more great draft year is all we need. We have the best young receiver/ tight end/ quarterback combo in the league. I also really hope that Bob Slowik will build a defense around Champ and see how far that will take the team. Go Broncos and can’t wait for a dominant 2008 season.
Keary Colbert is not what the Denver Broncos need. He’s a number 4 WR at best because he lacks speed.
What the Broncos need to do is pick up these 4 guys:
Bryant Johnson- He is a prototypical #2 WR and can take off some attention from Brandon Marshall, that way Marshall can have another successful year.
Boss Bailey- We’re thin at linebacker right now and I think that Boss can revive his career here in Denver as a Weakside LB. He’s a very athletic linebacker that can possibly learn a thing or two, like staying healthy and being a better tackler, from big brother Champ
Calvin Pace- A big LB that will dominate the Strongside LB spot. Nate Webster is a bit slow for his size and took poor angles, which allowed the ballcarrier to zip right past him. Pace will fill in nicely and is a young talent.
Dewayne Robertson- Jets will likely release him, so we have to be the first to pounce. He did an average job as a DT in a 3-4 scheme. His true potential will be unleashed in the 4-3 Broncos scheme in Denver and will give us a great set of pass rushing DT with him and Marcus Thomas. We tried the “meat in the middle” mentality and that blew up in our face. We also have two great alternates in Alvin McKinley and Josh Mallard and maybe Steven Harris could be a backup to Mallard since Mallard is also a DE.
There appears to be a vast array of uneducated football fans that are posting on this board. This sign is a pretty decent move by the Bronco’s. Free agency has become a complete joke with the amount of money a team must throw at the “big name” guys that usually have a selfish attitude.
For all of you who forgot about how th Pats won their superbowls in the past years it came from signing average guys who where team players and hard workers. They never went all crazy in the free agency on the “big name” players; But yet they still feilded very talented teams with guys who wanted to play and hadn’t had the best chances to shine on their previous teams. Signing players who have the ability, skills, and attitude to do well but yet have not had good chances to do so because of inconcistency in a coaching staff, at quarterback, and other such areas are the key to building a team that has the right mentality and drive to win games. Going for the big name “me me me” players isn’t always going to win you a SB, as it was proven this year in the SB. For the first time the pats went out and did a decent splash in free agency but yet a team like the giants came along and ended their “perfect season”.
I like the way the Broncos are going right now with staying quiet in the free agency and looking to sign team guys who will come for a fair price and have a good chance to make an impact with hard work and practice. The Broncos have also stated that they are going to feild more young guys through the draft in order to built the team instead of going all out in Free Agency. Scouting young players who have good heart and the potetional to suceed in the teams coaching system is the way to go if you ask me.
Good start, but we need to focus more on DEFENSE. More specifically the D-line and guys who get sacks. Plenty of D-lineman have moved which just shows we need to hurry up and pull the trigger. There are still some left. Working through the draft is too unpredictable and we have a good core set to make a legitimate Super Bowl run this year. Broncos, focus on improving our sucky DEFENSE.
this is a great pickup. colbert can compete with stokley for the number 2 slot and he would be a great number 3 receiver. and martinez can be a number 4 where he belongs. maybe they can have colbert return too. hopefully colbert is fast because martinez is way too slow to return. i think specail teams is still a big area of concern because the opposing team’s starting place is usually the 30 OR BETTER.
what are the broncos doing we need safety and Linebackers we should have tried to get lance briggs and besides there was better wide outs like the guy from the az cardinals name brynt johnson or something
Why would anybody want to sign Stallworth? He’s been with at least three different teams in the last four years. If you bought him for what he’s really worth and sold him for what he thinks he’s worth, you could retire filthy rich. If he’s so good why did the Patriots say adios? Especially since they aren’t really pushing to sign Randy Moss.
Now that the Rams signed the Seahawks kicker, signing Elam to a long term contract is essential. How many kickers of Jason’s abilities are out there?
With the departure of Ian Gold, I think Denver should definitely draft a MLB in the first round and get Williams back out to the outside where he will be even better, especially if Winborn plays up to potential. But then again, I am torn. I would really love to see Denver draft an OL in the first, maybe even trade up for Jake Long, that could be very cool. Then again, Kenny Phillips at Safety would be a great pickup in the first, too. Really, though, I like Colbert. I haven’t seen him play, but I think Shanahan sees something in this guy that we haven’t seen, yet. Denver will bring in someone else, too, at WR, you can probably bet on it. So, you never know, Denver is really flying under the radar and I think I like it. They aren’t in dire need of a DT, not really. Ekuban is back, so all they need to do is be patient. Get someone in the draft, say second round. I thought they really needed to get someone via free agency this year, but I am kind of changing my mind a little, given they haven’t done so yet, and I really think they would have had it been something that is a huge need. I am glad Lynch is coming back, because maybe that will free up a position that Denver wont need to draft in for another year.