Kolby Listenbee (born January 25, 1994) is a former
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...
wide receiver. He was drafted by the
Buffalo Bills in the sixth round of the
2016 NFL Draft
The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015 NFL Draft, 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park (Chicago), ...
. He played
college football at
TCU.
Early years
Listenbee attended
Bowie High School in
Arlington, Texas. He played
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
for the Volunteers
football team. He committed to
Texas Christian University
Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private research university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison and Randolph Clark as the Add-Ran Male & Female College. It is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciple ...
(TCU) to play
college football.
College career
Listenbee played in 16 games his first two years at TCU (2012–2013) and had three
receptions for 82 yards. As a junior in 2014, he became a starter and had 41 receptions for 753 yards and four
touchdown
A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...
s. As a senior in 2015, he had 30 receptions for 597 yards and five touchdowns. Listenbee also ran
track at TCU.
Professional career
Pre-draft
On December 1, 2015, it was announced that Listenbee had accepted an invitation to play in the
2016 Senior Bowl
The 2016 Senior Bowl was an all-star college football exhibition game featuring players from the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season, and prospects for the 2016 Draft of the professional National Football League (NFL). The game concluded th ...
. On January 26, 2016, it was reported Listenbee would be unable to play in the
Senior Bowl
The Senior Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game played annually in late January or early February in Mobile, Alabama, which showcases the best NFL Draft prospects of those players who have completed their college eligibility. Pr ...
and he was replaced by
Clemson's Charone Peake. Listenbee was one of 43 collegiate
wide receivers invited to the
NFL Scouting Combine
The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foo ...
in
Indianapolis, Indiana. He performed the majority of drills, but was unable to perform the
short shuttle or
three-cone drill
The three-cone drill, 3-cone drill or L-drill is a test performed by American football players. It is primarily run to evaluate the agility, quickness and fluidity of movement of players by scouts. It is most commonly seen at the NFL Combine in p ...
after suffering an apparent
groin
In human anatomy, the groin (the adjective is ''inguinal'', as in inguinal canal) is the junctional area (also known as the inguinal region) between the abdomen and the thigh on either side of the pubic bone. This is also known as the medial comp ...
injury. His overall performance was well received by scouts and analysts, as Listenbee ran the second fastest
40-yard dash
The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a h ...
among all players, only behind
Notre Dame wide receiver
Will Fuller
William Vincent Fuller V (born April 16, 1994) is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent. He was drafted by the Houston Texans in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft. He played college football at Notre Dame.
High school ca ...
. On March 31, 2016, he attended TCU's pro day, along with
Trevone Boykin,
Josh Doctson
Josh Doctson (born December 3, 1992) is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent. He played college football at Texas Christian and was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft. He has also been ...
,
Derrick Kindred
Derrick Dwayne Kindred Jr. (born December 15, 1993) is a former American football safety. He played college football at Texas Christian University, and was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft.
Early years
D ...
,
Halapoulivaati Vaitai
Halapoulivaati Vaitai (born June 16, 1993) is an American football offensive guard for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at TCU. He was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fifth round of ...
,
Aaron Green, Jaden Oberkrom, and 13 others. Scouts and team representatives from 30 NFL teams attended, including
Minnesota Vikings' head coach
Mike Zimmer
Michael Zimmer (born June 5, 1956) is an American football coach for the Colorado Buffaloes. Prior to this, Zimmer was with Jackson State, both college programs being led by Deion Sanders. He previously also served as the head coach of the Minn ...
, Vikings' General Manager
Rick Spielman
Richard Spielman (born December 2, 1962) is an American football executive who was most recently the general manager of the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL) from 2012 to 2022. He was promoted to general manager in 2012 af ...
,
Los Angeles Rams' General Manager
Les Snead
Samuel Lester Snead (born January 19, 1971) is an American football executive who is the general manager of the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL), a position he has held since 2012. Prior to joining the Rams in 2012, Snead se ...
, and wide receiver coaches from the
Oakland Raiders and
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...
. Listenbee only performed 18 reps in the
bench press, due to a
sports hernia
Athletic pubalgia, also called sports hernia,
core injury, hockey hernia, hockey groin, Gilmore's groin, or groin disruption is a medical condition of the Pubic symphysis, pubic joint affecting athletes.
It is a syndrome characterized by chronic ...
injury. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Listenbee was projected to be a third or fourth round pick by
NFL draft
The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting o ...
experts an scouts. He was ranked the 11th best wide receiver in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com.
Buffalo Bills
The
Buffalo Bills selected Listenbee in the sixth round (192nd overall) of the
2016 NFL Draft
The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015 NFL Draft, 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park (Chicago), ...
. He was the 23rd wide receiver selected in 2016. On May 12, 2016, the Bills signed Listenbee to a four-year, $2.47 million contract with a
signing bonus of $99,699.
Throughout
training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events, ...
, Listenbee competed for a roster spot against
Greg Salas
Greg Salas (born August 25, 1988) is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the fourth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college football for University of Hawaii.
College career
While at Hawaii, ...
,
Marcus Easley
Marcus Landon Easley (born November 2, 1987) is a former American football wide receiver and special teamer. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He played college football at Connecticut and graduated ...
,
Dezmin Lewis,
Leonard Hankerson,
Greg Little,
Jarrett Boykin,
Walter Powell, Davonte Allen, and Gary Chambers. On August 30, 2016, Listenbee was placed on the reserve/
non-football injury Non-football injury and non-football illness (NFI) are roster designations used in the National Football League (NFL) for players who are unable to practice as a result of conditions unrelated to football, or injuries that did not occur during NFL g ...
list coming off of surgery.
On June 6, 2017, Listenbee was waived by the Bills due to persistent injury concerns.
Miami Dolphins
On October 3, 2017, Listenbee was signed to the
practice squad of the
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...
. He was released on December 5, 2017.
Indianapolis Colts
On December 13, 2017, Listenbee was signed to the
Indianapolis Colts' practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Colts on January 1, 2018. He was
waived/injured
The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see ''Glossary of Canadian football''.
0–9
...
by the Colts on May 18, 2018 and was placed on
injured reserve. He was released on June 7, 2018.
References
External links
TCU Horned Frogs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Listenbee, Kolby
1994 births
Living people
Players of American football from Arlington, Texas
American football wide receivers
TCU Horned Frogs football players
Buffalo Bills players
Miami Dolphins players
Indianapolis Colts players
TCU Horned Frogs men's track and field athletes
Track and field athletes from Texas