"When the NFL gets around to playing football again, few players will have a more interesting "How I Spent the Lockout" story than Jeremy Shockey.

The Panthers' new tight end signed in March, eight days before the league locked out its players. He recently returned from Great Britain, where he led an American team through the Scottish Highlands in a 100-mile adventure race called the Drambuie Pursuit.

While his NFL peers were lifting weights and doing conditioning drills, Shockey was whitewater rafting, dune buggy racing and taking an unplanned swim in one of the world's most fabled lakes.

"I fell into Loch Ness, the Loch Ness Monster. My kayak tipped over in about 40-degree water," Shockey said. "I had a wetsuit on fortunately. But it felt like my eyeballs were shrinking. I jumped back in that kayak pretty quick."

In addition to his Super Bowl resume, vise-grip hands and big frame, the Panthers were drawn to Shockey because of his passion and competitive spirit.

That competitiveness extended to events such as archery and kayaking this month in a race that retraces the steps of Bonnie Prince Charlie through Scotland as he eluded British forces in 1745. (According to Scottish lore, Bonnie Prince Charlie left the recipe for the alcoholic drink Drambuie - still a well-kept secret - as a way of thanking those who helped him escape capture.)

Shockey, who is of Scotch-Irish descent, was eager to sign up when he heard about the race. He took a vacation to Ireland after the two-day event.

"It was a pretty tough challenge, I'll tell you that," said Shockey, who teamed with three endurance racers from Texas to finish fourth among 10 squads. "It was a great adventure, a great challenge."

Shockey's next challenge will be proving at 30 - after being released following three injury-plagued seasons in New Orleans - he can be a force for a team in need of an infusion in the passing game.

"I know what I can bring to the table. I'm glad that (the Panthers) saw the same thing," Shockey said last week in a phone interview. "I feel great about working out here in Miami. I feel like a different person compared to what I was doing last year in New Orleans and the year before in New Orleans."

Shockey is following the offseason routine he used while going to four Pro Bowls in six seasons with the New York Giants. Shockey attended mandatory workouts with the Giants, but spent the rest of the offseason training in Miami with many of his former University of Miami teammates.

Besides the conveniences of living at home, Shockey finds South Beach less distracting - or at least different - than Bourbon Street.

"I was a 100 percent attendance guy at the offseason workouts with the Saints, and really didn't see much difference," Shockey said. "I always found myself after the workouts doing something unhealthy. But Miami's a very healthy city."

Shockey had a chance to stay in Miami with the Dolphins af