ENGLEWOOD, Colo.—Keary Colbert is a realist with a frustrated past.
The fifth-year wide receiver and recent free agent acquisition of the Denver Broncos is participating in the team’s offseason conditioning program. Brandon Marshall, who is recovering surgery to repair damage to his right forearm, is not.
Yet, Colbert, who will compete for the vacancy left by the departure of Javon Walker, is hardly relieved by Marshall’s absence.
“He’ll be fine for training camp and when the season really starts and everything gets under way,” Colbert said Wednesday about Marshall. “The key is he’ll be back, ready for training camp and the season. Everybody else is going to have to wait it out and when he’s back, he’s back.
“He’s going to be the guy once the season starts,” Colbert added. “So its not a secret or a mystery or anything like that as far as his status with the offense or the team.”
In a statement, Broncos head athletic trainer Steve Antonopulos confirmed reports that Marshall “sustained right forearm lacerations to one artery, one vein, one nerve, two tendons and three muscles.”
Rehabilitation for Marshall will begin in six weeks and full recovery is expected to take three to four months. Antonopulos said Marshall might be ready in time for the start of training camp in late July.
The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Colbert, who played four seasons with the Carolina Panthers, has more pressing matters to worry about.
“I could be moving over to his position or doing a number of different things,” he said. “For me, I’m really trying to get acclimated in the offense and learn and just get adjusted.”
And he hasn’t been able to get a feel for how he fits into the system since signing with the Broncos as an unrestricted free agent March 2.
“It’s hard for me to say because I really haven’t been around to predict or know how they run the offense,” Colbert said. “I know there’s a number of guys that surround me on offense and it should be a good offense.”
The 25-year-old came to Denver ready for a fresh start. While with the Panthers, he caught 109 passes for 1,424 yards and seven touchdowns.
“I guess statistically on a personal level, it’s been frustrating,” Colbert said. “My second-year numbers weren’t as good as my first year but we went to the NFC Championship game and we won a lot of games.”
He showed declining productivity after a rookie year in 2004 when he caught 47 passes for 754 yards and five touchdowns. Colbert caught 25 passes in 2005 and five in 2006. He had 32 receptions a year ago.
“On a personal level, everybody’s goal is to play well and play at a high level, so from a personal level it was kind of disappointing,” Colbert said. “But on the other side of it, I was still doing things I was asked to do and I was still involved on a pretty decent team.”
Colbert finished the 2007 season on injured reserve. The Panthers placed him on injured reserve with a season-ending knee injury on Dec. 21, 2007.
He was a second-round pick out of USC in 2004.
