Limas Sweed

Limas Sweed

refer to caption

Sweed with the Texas Longhorns
No. 14, 80
Position: Wide receiver
Personal information
Date of birth: (1984-12-25) December 25, 1984
Place of birth: Brenham, Texas
Height: 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight: 220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
College: Texas
NFL draft: 2008 / Round: 2 / Pick: 53
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Receptions: 7
Receiving Yards: 69
Touchdowns: 0
Player stats at NFL.com

Limas Lee Sweed, Jr. (born December 25, 1984) is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. His team won Super Bowl XLIII, beating the Arizona Cardinals. He played college football at Texas.

He also played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League.

High school

Sweed attended Brenham High School in Brenham, Texas. He was a starting receiver on the Brenham Cubs and took them to the Texas AAAA State Championship, where they were defeated by Denton Ryan High School.

He lettered in basketball and track. In track, he finished 4th at the UIL State Meet in the 110 Hurdles his senior year.

College career

Sweed was a redshirt freshmen in the 2004 season. As a sophomore, Sweed recorded 36 receptions for 545 yards and 5 touchdowns. One of these touchdowns was a game winning catch from Vince Young against Ohio State to keep the Longhorns ranked second in the nation. In addition, Sweed recorded eight receptions for 65 yards in the BCS National Championship against USC.

Sweed's junior year would be his best season statistically. Receiving for new quarterback Colt McCoy, Sweed collected 46 receptions for 801 yards and 12 touchdowns. By catching a touchdown pass in seven straight games, Sweed broke former Longhorn Roy Williams' record for consecutive games with a touchdown reception.

In the summer prior to the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Sweed injured his wrist but was cleared to play in the season opener for the 2007 Texas Longhorn football team. In the sixth game of the season, the 2007 Red River Shootout, he left the game early because he re-injured his left wrist. He underwent surgery to tighten the ligaments in the wrist, ending his season.[1] He returned to play in the Senior Bowl, and was fully healthy for the NFL Scouting Combine.[2]

Professional career

Pittsburgh Steelers

Originally projected to be the first or second receiver taken in the draft, Sweed's stock fell sharply due to his injury.[3] He was selected 53rd overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers, and was the 9th receiver selected. On July 27, 2008, Sweed agreed to a four-year contract with the Steelers[4][5] worth $3.3 million.[6]

During training camp, Sweed discovered that he had astigmatism in both eyes[7] and would have to wear contacts.[8] In the 2008 preseason opener against the Philadelphia Eagles, Sweed led the Steelers with 3 receptions for 23 yards.[9] His regular season debut came in week 7 against the Cincinnati Bengals, due to an injury suffered by Dallas Baker. He caught 1 pass for 11 yards.[10]

Going into training camp in 2009, Sweed faced competition for the 3rd wide receiver position between veteran Shaun McDonald and rookie Mike Wallace. Sweed entered the season as the 6th receiver, rarely playing in the first 3 games. He dropped a pass in Week 3 which would have been a touchdown.[11] Following this drop, Sweed bounced between the 4th and 5th receiver spots until Shaun McDonald was released on November 28, solidifying Sweed as the 4th receiver.

On December 21, 2009, Sweed was placed on the Reserve/Non-Football Injury/Illness List. The nature of the injury was not announced, although he stated that he was dealing with "personal issues."[12]

On May 2, 2010, Sweed injured his left Achilles tendon during the final day of a three-day minicamp.[13] On May 3, 2010, Sweed underwent surgery to repair his torn Achilles tendon,[14] and he was placed on season-ending Injured Reserve a few days later.

On August 17, 2011, the Steelers placed Sweed on the Waived/Injured list.[15] He was then released in mid-September.[16]

Saskatchewan Roughriders

On October 25, 2012, the Saskatchewan Roughriders signed Sweed. He was released on June 4, 2013.

Ottawa Redblacks

On February 10, 2014, Sweed signed with the Ottawa Redblacks. He was released on April 16, 2014.

References

  1. ↑ Halliburton, Suzanne (October 8, 2007). "Sweed lost for year". Austin American-Statesman (Cox Enterprises). Retrieved 2007-11-07.
  2. ↑ "On the Sidelines with Limas Sweed". PittsburghSteelers.com. 2008-08-28. Retrieved 2008-08-28.
  3. ↑ "Limas Sweed Scouting Report". FFToolbox.com. 2008-04-21. Retrieved 2010-03-09.
  4. ↑ Bouchette, Ed (2008-07-26). "Mendenhall, Sweed sign with Steelers". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2008-07-26.
  5. ↑ "Steelers sign rookie WR Sweed". Yahoo! Sports. 2008-07-27. Retrieved 2008-07-27.
  6. ↑ Dulac, Gerry (2008-07-28). "Steelers notebook: Polamalu, Kemoeatu sit out with injuries". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
  7. ↑ "Steeler Limas Sweed 'Can See Clearly Now'". Steelers (KDKA). 2008-07-31. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
  8. ↑ Limas Sweed (2008-07-31). Steeler Limas Sweed 'Can See Clearly Now' (News report). Latrobe, Pennsylvania: KDKA. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
  9. ↑ "Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Philadelphia Eagles Gamebook for game played on 8/8/08" (PDF). 2008-08-08. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
  10. ↑ Injuries open the door for Steelers' second-round pick Sweed
  11. ↑ "Tomlin may bench WR after drops". CNN. 2009-09-29. Archived from the original on January 31, 2010. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
  12. ↑ Bouchette, Ed (2010-04-19). "Receiver Sweed back at practice with Steelers". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  13. ↑ "Sweed may be done for year with Achilles injury". CNN. 2010-05-02. Archived from the original on May 6, 2010. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
  14. ↑ http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/36922245/ns/sports-player_news/
  15. ↑ "Steelers Make Transactions". 2011-08-17. Retrieved 2011-08-17.
  16. ↑ "Roethlisberger: No-huddle offense likely to make comeback vs. Seattle". 2011-09-15. Retrieved 2011-12-18.
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