The Seahawks liked what they saw from Keary Colbert in practice in the days after they acquired him from the Broncos in September. There wasn't much to like from him during games, however, and that's apparently why Seattle released him Tuesday.
Colbert dropped what should have been a routine 19-yard completion on a critical third-and-12 play against the Dolphins in Week 10. The Seahawks expect Deion Branch to return this week. Releasing Colbert appears to be a direct response to his struggles. Seattle remains relatively thin at the position. The depth doesn't improve without Colbert.
So, for an undisclosed late-round pick (Editor: 5th)(was it conditional? Ed: Yes) , we got 7 catches, 52 yards and 1 TD reception. Ew. Can't much blame Ruskell though. With all the injuries he had to pull the trigger on something. Dude looked the part but just couldn't squeeze the rock.
John Morgan (Edit): Is this a waste of resources, yes, but I think something else must be said. Seattle is destined for a top fifteen pick. Unless things change quickly, a top ten. Tim Ruskell will trade down. He's an aggressive GM who makes a lot of moves. He clearly prescribes to a talent acquisition by volume approach and it's one I agree with. Ruskell, Mike Holmgran and staff must have seen something about Colbert that interested them. The pick used to acquire Colbert was a small bet with possibly good returns. Now the team moves on.
I don't like this move, it seems rash, but consider the likelihood of a 5th round wide receiver sticking. Despite his name value, and the abnormal in season nature of the move, the result isn't much more than a fifth round bust. Seattle has made many moves to get this receiving corps. Should Taylor stick and contribute, it will still be one of the least expensive group of wide receivers in the NFL. If Koren can build on his gains, Branch play like we know he can, and Taylor play like a pro, it won't be half bad. This is clearly Ruskell's philosophy on acquiring wide receiver talent, construction through volume and attrition. Now, the question left unaswered: Is it worth a damn?
John Morgan (Edit 2): (a very cogent argument provided by michaelfox99)
The 5th round pick for Colbert is gone. We don’t get the pick back by keeping Keary around. We want to get Branch out on the field so someone has to be cut. Cutting Kent instead of Keary doesn’t miraculously net us a 5th round pick. It’s just like poker, the bets in the previous round are over with. We have to cut the worst player / least upside … and I have no reason to believe that is not what we did.
You have to isolate the 2 moves:
1) trading for Keary
2) cutting himIt is smart management to NOT favor Keary just because we invested a lot in him… You have to evaluate the trade based on the situation at the trade, and this move based on the situation NOW.
Lets face it, Keary is younger than say, Engram, but is already in his fifth season, and hasn’t had a decent year since his rookie season. I would much rather have Kent around than Colbert. I agree with the comment above that we needed an experienced, but not over the hill, player immediately at the time we picked up Colbert, a time when we were still thinking playoffs…
There may also be a clause that we would lose another pick or a higher pick if Keary stayed on the roster past a certain date, or played X number of snaps… I don’t know.
It’s too early to determine whether we should trade down. As pointed out, it isn’t always the best thing to do. We have to consider what our needs are and who is out there as the draft gets closer. As of right now I think a true WR threat is our biggest need. We are too easy to single cover and don’t have RAC threat. Crabtree is unbelievable. What he has done this year despite being the focus of the other teams’ defense every week is simply godlike. He might fall a drop by not having a 4.3-40 come combine time but he is just such a good football player..
