The strange odyssey of Kentwan Balmer’s NFL career is continuing at Redskins training camp. Or wherever Balmer is right now, when he’s supposed to be at Redskins training camp.
Balmer showed up to camp when it opened last week, but he disappeared this week and has been gone for two straight days. The Redskins say his absence is unexcused and they don’t know where he is or why he isn’t with the rest of the team.
“Hopefully it’s nothing very serious,” Redskins coach Mike Shanahan said.
A 2008 first-round draft pick of the 49ers, Balmer has undeniable talent for the defensive end position. But he’s never been able to get his head on straight and has therefore never lived up to his talent. When Balmer failed to show up to the 49ers’ training camp in 2010, he was traded to the Seahawks for a sixth-round draft pick. He lasted one year in Seattle before the Seahawks cut him, then got picked up by Carolina, where he lasted one week before the Panthers cut him. He finally ended up in Washington and played three games for the Redskins last season.
Now the Redskins don’t know where he is, and no one knows if he has any future in the NFL at all.