the first round (29th overall) of the 2002 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears. He spent three injury-plagued seasons with the Bears before being released after the 2005 season. In 2002, as a rookie, Colombo was placed on injured reserve after suffering a dislocated patella and femoral nerve damage during a road game against the St. Louis Rams on November 18. He missed the entire 2003 season after being placed first on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list on August 13, and then on injured reserve. He also missed most of the 2004 season; he was finally activated from the Reserve/PUP list to the active roster on November 8, 2004. In 2005, he played in the Bears season opener; however, he was waived the next week, on September 13, 2005. Dallas Cowboys (2005–2010) Colombo was out of football until he signed with the Dallas Cowboys on November 1, 2005. He was then inactive for his first three games with Dallas. He then played on special teams in a road game against the New York Giants, against the Kansas City Chiefs, and on the road against the Washington Redskins and then against the Rams. In 2006, he was named the starting right tackle after training camp and started every game in one of the Cowboys most productive and efficient offensive seasons in franchise history. The offense scored 425 points (26.6 points-per-game), the fourth-most in the league. The team was second in the league in third-down efficiency (48.8%), the franchise's highest rating in that category since 1980. The team also averaged 360.8 yards-per-game in total offense, the fifth-most in the league and the most for the Cowboys since their Super Bowl XXX winning season of 1995. In 2007, Colombo started every game at right tackle for the second consecutive year. He played a key role in one of the most successful offensive seasons in club history while helping the team to a franchise record-tying 13 wins and the first NFC East title since 1998. The offense finished the season second in the league in scoring (first in the conference) with an average of 28.4 points-per-game. The 455 points scored marked the second-most in franchise history behind only the 1983 team (479 points). With an average of 365.7 yards-per-game, the Cowboys were third in the league (second in the conference) in total offense. The team ranked fourth in the league (third in