That's why Denver was willing to give Colbert a three-year contract.

Turns out, rookie Eddie Royal and veteran Darrell Jackson are filling that position better, meaning Colbert was expendable when the injury-depleted Seattle Seahawks came calling this week.

"With me there, it was a logjam," Colbert said. "We had a lot of guys. I happened to be that guy toward the bottom."

Seattle sent a late-round pick to Denver in order to get instant, experienced help for a receiving unit that has six players sidelined with various injuries. Last week saw the Seahawks lose backup quarterback/receiver Seneca Wallace (calf) and Logan Payne (knee), joining Nate Burleson (knee), Ben Obomanu (clavicle), Bobby Engram (shoulder) and Deion Branch (knee) on the shelf.

Engram and Branch are expected to return after Seattle's Week 4 bye, meaning Colbert's best chance to make a strong impression and secure his spot for the remainder of the season comes Sunday when Seattle hosts St. Louis.

That'll be just five days after he arrived in town.

"I didn't expect this to happen, but I'm here," Colbert said. "It was an unfortunate situation (the injuries), but that's life, and that's football sometimes."

Colbert's cross-country trek from Carolina last season, to Denver and now to Seattle, exemplifies the often-nomadic life of NFL players. Colbert left the Panthers after four seasons for Denver at a time when the Broncos were losing Javon Walker and were unsure if Rod Smith would return or retire. Smith ended up retiring, leaving Colbert, Brandon Marshall and Brandon Stokley as the only receivers on the Broncos' roster with experience.

That was before Denver drafted Royal, an early season sensation, in the second round of April's draft, and signed Jackson, a former Seahawks' star, as a free agent. Colbert was quickly bypassed on the depth chart and left mostly to watch.

"I wasn't surprised with what happened with the emergence of Eddie Royal, and having guys there like Brandon Stokley and Darrell Jackson, Brandon Marshall. I kind of understood the numbers side of football and how things work out," Colbert said. "To that extent, it wasn't really a surprise."

Seattle coach Mike Holmgren had kept on eye on Colbert in the past, in part because of Colbert's success in college at USC. Also in Colbert's favor was the time he spent in Denver, learning Mike Shanahan's offense, where the terminology is similar to what Holmgren uses.

Colbert is also closer to being in game shape than Koren Robinson, whose return to the Seahawks dominated the talk earlier in the week. Robinson was limited in practice on Thursday with what the team listed as a knee injury, while Colbert was out running all the routes.

"It's nice to have some guys who have played. Let's start there," Holmgren said. "I'm kind of encouraged by that. We'll see how it goes."

Holmgren hasn't been shy about saying both Robinson and Colbert will be pushed into action this weekend. Colbert felt fairly comfortable about his grasp of the playbook on Thursday in just his second day of practice, but took a minute away from his studying to share a few laughs with former USC teammate Lofa Tatupu in the locker room.

"The stuff that I learned yesterday I was good with, but the stuff I learned today I had to make sure I had my thinking cap on outside, trying not to mess up on the new stuff," Colbert said. "I'll be ready (for Sunday). Physically, I've been playing, I'm in shape. Mentally, that's going to be the challenge to make sure I do the job that's asked."