Limas Sweed

Limas Lee Sweed, Jr. (born December 25, 1984 in Brenham, Texas) is an American football wide receiver of the National Football League. He played collegiately for the Texas Longhorns. On April 26, 2008 Sweed was taken 53rd overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2008 NFL Draft.

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. He returned to play in the Senior Bowl, and was fully healthy for the NFL Scouting Combine.

NFL career
. Originally projected to be taken as the first or second receiver in some mock drafts, his stock fell due to his injury. He was selected 53rd overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers, and was taken as the 9th receiver in the second round. On July 27, 2008, Sweed agreed to a four-year contract with the Steelers, worth $3.3 million. Since by NFL rules wide receivers can't wear number 4 (Sweed's collegiate number), the Steelers issued Sweed the next-closest number with 14.

During 2008 training camp Sweed discovered that he had astigmatism in both eyes; and would have to wear contacts. He started off his career in the 2008 pre-season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles where he led his teams in receptions (3) and yards (23) on the receiving end. His first action in a regular season game came in week 7 against the Cincinnati Bengals due to an injury suffered by backup Dallas Baker. He caught 1 pass for 11 yards.

Going into the 2009 Training Camp, 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, had he held on to, would have been a touchdown. 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 has yet to be announced, although he stated that he was dealing with "personal issues."

For the 2010 season, Sweed changed his number to 80.

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

On August 17, 2011, Steelers released and placed Sweed on the Waived/Injured List He was waived in mid September.