Former Colts Wide Receiver Hakeem Nicks: "I'm Nowhere Near Finished, Man"

The Colts clearly entered this offseason looking to upgrade their wide receiver position, as they allowed two of their top four guys from a season ago to walk in free agency.  One of them was longtime star Reggie Wayne, and that news deservedly received a lot of attention, and Wayne is still contemplating his options while hoping to play another year.

The other receiver who the Colts let walk in free agency has received a lot less attention, but he's also hoping to play in 2015 - Hakeem Nicks.

"I'm nowhere near finished, man, and I want to prove that to the world and everybody," Nicks recently told FOX Sports' Mike Garafolo.  "That's definitely my mentality, but I don't even want to talk about it. I feel like I got into that situation last year talking about it. I'm about to just go out there and prove it.

"I can't even describe the feeling to you. It's like a burning sensation inside of me. I just want to be the best. I know I have to work hard at it; it's something that's in me. It's just in me and takes over me."

He won't be returning to the Colts, as they added veteran wideout Andre Johnson and intriguing rookie Duron Carter to pair with T.Y. Hilton and Donte Moncrief, but interestingly Nicks didn't have any regrets about his time in Indianapolis and in fact thinks that his time there was productive.

"If you actually look at the film, you'll see I had my burst back last year. I got everything back," Nicks said. "For two years, when I was coming off the broke foot and PCL (sprain) in the knee, it took some time to get back. But last year, if you put the film on, you'll see I was beating guys off the line of scrimmage, beating guys downfield in my routes."

I wouldn't exactly say that he had his burst back a year ago, though it might be fair to say that it was better than it had been when he was injured.  But for a guy still trying to land with a team, it makes sense for him to say it the way that he did.  Put simply, his 2014 season with the Colts was a disappointment, as he didn't have much timing with quarterback Andrew Luck and that burst still wasn't that great.  He played in all sixteen games with the Colts last year (starting six) and caught 38 passes for 405 yards and four touchdowns.  He did play much better toward the end of the season, and so nay team that signs him would be hoping for that level of play consistently - while at the same time hoping that he could improve more and reach the level of play he was at a few years ago.

Hakeem Nicks isn't done yet, but he's also yet to find a job a month into the free agency period.  I'm sure that a team will give him a chance, if in nothing more than a prove-it role in camp, and it'll be up to him to show that he can help a team.