The Indianapolis Colts added more depth and competition to the wide receiver room Monday, officially announcing the signing of free-agent wide receiver Breshad Perriman.
Though Perriman, 29, has not lived up to the draft capital of a former first-round pick, he has shown flashes of being a legitimate deep threat for an offense running a vertical passing game.
Here are five things to know about the newest addition to the Colts wide receiver room:
1
Former first-round pick
Perriman certainly has the draft capital pedigree, having been the No. 26 overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft by the Baltimore Ravens out of Central Florida. He didn’t participate at the NFL combine due to a hamstring injury but posted a 4.26 in the 40-yard dash at his pro day.
2
Well traveled
Despite being a former first-round pick, Perriman is a well-traveled player. Between an extensive injury history and failing to live up to his draft pedigree, Perriman has spent time with eight teams since entering the league, now including the Colts.
| Team | Season | Games Played | Notes |
| Baltimore Ravens | 2015-2017 | 27 | Missed entire rookie season (PCL) |
| Washington Redskins | 2018 | 0 | Waived five days after signing |
| Cleveland Browns | 2018 | 10 | Stats: 16-340-2 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 2019 | 14 | Stats: 36-645-6 (career highs) |
| New York Jets | 2020 | 12 | Started all 12 games |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 2021-2022 | 17 | 20 receptions in two seasons |
3
NFL runs in his blood
Perriman’s father, Brett, played 10 years in the NFL as a wide receiver. He was selected in the second round (No. 52 overall) of the 1988 NFL draft by the New Orleans Saints. He spent three seasons (1988-1990) with the Saints and the majority of his career with the Detroit Lions (1991-1996). His final season in the NFL (1997) was split between the Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins.
In 153 career games (116 starts), Perriman recorded 525 receptions for 6,589 yards and 30 touchdowns. His best season came in 1995 when he posted 108 receptions for 1,488 yards and nine touchdowns at the age of 30. He followed that up in 1996 with 94 receptions for 1,021 yards and five touchdowns at the age of 31.
4
Extensive injury history
Perriman has carried a pretty extensive injury history throughout his career. It started his rookie campaign when he partially tore his right PCL on the first day of training camp. He returned to practice in September but was placed on the injured reserve list for the remainder of the season when he suffered a setback.
The following offseason, Perriman suffered a partially torn ACL during minicamp in June. He had surgery on the ligament and was able to return for the preseason finale. He wound up playing all 16 games during that campaign but made only one start.
Perriman has played a full season just one time in his career back in 2016 and has played in more than 12 games just twice (2016, 2019).
5
A legitimate deep threat
Perriman, 29, is getting older and with the injury history, we shouldn’t expect him to get any faster. However, he can be an intriguing deep threat for the Colts as a depth piece in the wide receiver room.
Though it was back in 2020, Perriman was among the fastest wide receivers on go routes, at one point averaging a league-high 17.17 miles per hour on those routes, according to Next Gen Stats.
Joe Flacco & Breshad Perriman 50-yard TD
Perriman was moving 19.23 MPH when the pass arrived, his fastest speed at any moment over the course of the route.
Perriman averages the fastest top speed in the NFL on go routes this season (17.17 MPH).#NEvsNYJ | Powered by @awscloud pic.twitter.com/CbvKI9zjlI
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) November 10, 2020
His production also backs that up with a career mark of 16.7 yards per reception. Five of his seven seasons in the league have featured Perriman averaging over 15 yards per reception with a career-high mark of 21.3 yards per reception in 2018.
