Defense attorneys may call Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert to testify in Mike Adams stabbing trial

The defense attorneys for the three men accused of stabbing and threatening to rob Steelers offensive tackle Mike Adams of his truck last summer may call general manager Kevin Colbert to testify, reports the Tribune-Review Friday.

The lawyers are mulling whether to bring Colbert in, presumably as a means to shows Adams' motive for allegedly lying to police about the incident that took place on Pittsburgh's South Side in the early morning hours of June 1. Adams had reportedly failed a drug test at the NFL Scouting Combine in 2012, and reportedly pleaded with Colbert to keep him on their draft board despite the failed test.

Adams initially reported he had two drinks the night of the incident, although his blood alcohol level at the hospital was .185 after he was received their for his injuries. Whether that constitutes enough doubt on Adams' character to believe he's making the story up is another matter, but it appears the defense's strategy is to discredit him any way possible, including grilling his boss's boss on the stand.

Tribune-Review reporter Adam Brandolph wrote the lawyers would decide whether to call Colbert as a witness Friday.

Michael C. Paranay, Jerrell Whitlock and Duquay Means, all of Hazelwood, are on trial for the attack that led to Adams suffering two stab wounds in his abdomen. One stabbing pierced Adams' large intestine and another lacerated his colon.

The defense called a witness, Loriel Jenks, who testified she saw Paranay punch Adams, but she did not witness a stabbing. Paranay contends he punched Adams after Adams bumped into him, knocking his shish kabob and cell phone to the ground.

Wrote Brandolph:

"I guess I was pretty fired up that, like, my stuff got knocked down," Paranay told detectives who interviewed him after Adams was stabbed June 1 at the corner of 17th and East Carson streets. "In my mind, I was drunk, and I thought it was him ... so I ran, jumped in the air and punched him."

Means is accused of showing Adams a gun tucked into his waistband as the trip attempted to steal his truck.