Limas

Sweed

After three-plus ugly years in Pittsburgh, Sweed is free. His shoulder injury was not expected to be major, so it will be interesting to see if any team takes a flier. The No. 53 overall pick in the 2008 draft is 6-foot-4 and had good speed when he broke into the league.

Sweed has struggled as a tryout player, and almost certainly won’t be offered a contract. Still just six months removed from shoulder surgery, the 27-year-old Sweed insists he’s fully healthy and has no plans to retire.

Before taking the field, Sweed also revealed to reporters that he recently worked out with the Bears and Bengals. Sweed was the 53rd overall pick in the 2008 draft. His career has been derailed by mental errors and an Achilles’ tear.

The 53rd pick in the 2008 draft, Sweed flamed out quickly with the Steelers after a poor rookie season and torn Achilles’. He was out of football in 2011. If Sweed is back to 100 percent, he’s worth one last shot at age 27.

Though some recover from Achilles’ surgeries earlier than others, the injury will at least land Sweed on the PUP list to start the year, and the odds are heavily against him playing a down in 2010. Players that return too quickly from Achilles’ tears also tend to suffer setbacks, or injuries to other lower-body parts. Sweed has developed extremely slowly since being drafted in the 2008 second round. It’s safe to label him a total bust at this point.

A tear of the Achilles’ would likely knock Sweed out for the entire 2010 season. Coach Mike Tomlin wasn’t coy about the injury, confirming that it’s a serious concern. The No. 53 overall pick in 2008, Sweed has just seven career catches in 20 games. Rookie Emmanuel Sanders will pick up reps.

Nothing is official, but all signs point to this being an Achilles’ tear for the 25-year-old wideout. If so, Sweed will likely head to injured reserve.

NFL Network’s Jason La Canfora confirms that the team is fearing the worst for its former second-round pick. Sweed was going to enter camp on the roster bubble anyway, but his talent gave him serious upside as a reserve.

No surprise here at all. A torn Achilles is a serious injury that often takes at least a year to recover from. Sweed’s career path needs to make a U-turn quickly if he’s ever going to live up to his second-round draft pick status.

Sweed suffered the torn Achilles’ a week ago in practice. With just seven career catches in 20 games, the 2008 second-rounder’s early career has been notable only for a serious of miscues and questionable effort. Sweed’s 2009 season also ended early, reportedly due to severe depression. Sweed is signed through 2011, but he doesn’t have a future in Pittsburgh.