Seahawks reacquire Robinson, trade for WR Colbert

[September 17, 2008]  SEATTLE (AP) -- The Seattle Seahawks took two steps to bolster their injured-depleted wide receivers by trading for Keary Colbert and reacquiring Koren Robinson on Tuesday.

Seattle agreed to a one-year contract with Robinson, its former No. 1 draft choice. Agent Alvin Keels confirmed the agreement and its length in an e-mail to The Associated Press.

Robinson worked out for the Seahawks on Tuesday and convinced team president Tim Ruskell he has changed since Ruskell released him in the 2005 season because of repeated problems with alcohol.

The Seahawks have lost six wide receivers to injury this season. Robinson already is listed as No. 1 on Seattle's depth chart at wide receiver for Sunday's game against St. Louis, a matchup of winless teams.

"Just because of the terms and circumstances I left Seattle on, I never thought I'd be back," Robinson said on a conference call. "I'm grateful for this chance. I think it can be a good story -- for me and the team."

The 28-year-old Robinson said he has been sober for 25 months thanks to a new marriage, two young sons, a baby girl due next month and religion.

"I'm definitely proud of that," he said.

Robinson said the final incident that caused him to abandon his partying ways came in August 2006. Police said Robinson, then with the Minnesota Vikings, led them on a car chase at speeds more than 100 mph, and that his blood-alcohol content was found to be 0.11 percent, above the legal limit of 0.08.

Robinson was sentenced to 90 days in jail after pleading down to a charge of fleeing police. He also was sentenced to three months in jail for violating probation on a separate drunken-driving case in Kirkland, Wash., in 2006.

The NFL suspended him for one year then reinstated him last October. He caught 21 passes and returned kickoffs in nine games last season for Green Bay. If Robinson violates the league's substance-abuse policy again, he faces a lifetime ban.

Last week when the Seahawks had four receivers injured, coach Mike Holmgren mentioned Robinson to Ruskell as a possible replacement. And quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, Robinson's quarterback from 2001-04 in Seattle, told Ruskell that Robinson had turned his life around. Hasselbeck saw Robinson during a weeklong Christian retreat in Dallas last winter and was impressed.

"I don't know about the football side of it at all. I haven't seen him play in a long time," Hasselbeck said Monday. "But, I guess what I care about more is that he grew up and really matured and got his life turned around in the right direction. ... I'm proud of him."

"I understand the criticism ... if this was the Koren of four years ago, that would be warranted," Ruskell said. "And we could be wrong ... but all of us believe in second chances."

Logan Payne started Sunday's loss to San Francisco but injured a knee. He is the third wide receiver to be out for the season. Backup quarterback Seneca Wallace pulled his calf while pressed into receiver duty and will miss up to a month.

Colbert's agent, Gary Uberstine, said Tuesday in an e-mail to The AP his client is also coming to Seattle, from Denver. Fox Sports.com first reported the trade.

The deal is believed to be for a fifth-round pick. It will likely become official on Wednesday, Ruskell said.

The 26-year-old Colbert has not caught a pass in two games with the Broncos after signing a three-year deal in March. He became tradable with the emergence of rookie Eddie Royal and the return of Brandon Marshall from suspension. Colbert was also behind former Seahawk Darrell Jackson and veteran Brandon Stokley.

Colbert caught 32 passes in 12 games for Carolina in 2007.

[Associated Press; By GREGG BELL]

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