JUNE 5: Perriman’s workout has indeed resulted in a contract. The Colts announced on Monday that a deal has been signed with the journeyman, who will look to carve out at least a depth role in the team’s new-look WR room. A successful season could yield some stability for Perriman as he continues to search for a long-term home. In a corresponding move, the Colts have waived undrafted free agent wideout Tyler Adams.
JUNE 2: Already playing for four teams since arriving in the NFL as a 2015 first-round pick, Breshad Perriman may soon have an opportunity to contribute with a fifth.
The Colts brought the veteran wide receiver in for a workout Friday, and ESPN’s Adam Schefter notes (via Twitter) the sides are in discussions about a deal. Perriman spent the past two years with the Buccaneers, working as a depth piece during the final two seasons of the team’s Tom Brady era.
Although Perriman, 29, did not make much of a statistical impact during the Bucs’ Brady period, he posted 500-plus-yard receiving seasons for the 2019 Bucs and 2020 Jets. The 210-pound wideout amassed a career-high 645 receiving yards with the Bucs in 2019 and added 505 for the ’20 Jets. The Colts have some questions at receiver after No. 1 option Michael Pittman Jr., and Perriman could be in play to become at least a second-string presence for the retooling team.
New Colts OC Jim Bob Cooter was with the Jets — as running backs coach — during Perriman’s Big Apple season. The Colts used a second-round pick on Alec Pierce last year and added multiple slot options — free agent Isaiah McKenzie, third-round pick Josh Downs — this offseason.
One of four first-round receivers the Ravens have chosen since 2015, Perriman did not work out in Baltimore. He missed all of his rookie year due to injury and totaled just 77 yards during an 11-game 2017 audition. A one-year Cleveland stay (2018) revealed some promise, and Jameis Winston‘s final Bucs season included a somewhat memorable finish from Perriman. The Central Florida alum closed the QB’s high-variance year with three straight 100-yard receiving performances. During the 2020 season in New York, Perriman finished second in Jets receiving yardage.
Tampa Bay continued to rely on its Mike Evans–Chris Godwin combination with Brady but also rostered Antonio Brown, Russell Gage and Julio Jones during the all-time great’s stay. While Brady connected with Perriman on a walk-off touchdown to beat the Bills in 2021, the backup receiver totaled just 277 receiving yards over the past two seasons.
The Colts let Zach Pascal walk in 2022 and did not re-sign Parris Campbell in March. Pierce is expected to remain their No. 2 wideout, with McKenzie and Downs in place to follow Campbell as inside presences. The team also employs backup/spot starter Ashton Dulin and third-year player Mike Strachan.
What do the Colts think a receiver with a 50% catch ratio and a recent (last two years) average yards per target of 5.7 will get them?
The answer is a lot of third and long and fourth downs. Perriman has to be one of the most prominent draft busts in NFL history. Most of them burn out within two or three years, one or two teams. Perriman has taken his circus act and dropped ball routine to five different teams with an average offensive snap percentage around 50%!
Everywhere Perriman plays coaches, fans and owners get to watch his drops often and close up.