Getty Indianapolis Colts linebacker Shaquille Leonard (#53).
Update: Indianapolis Colts linebacker is being placed on injured reserve and his “season might be over,” according to FOX59’s Mike Chappell on Friday, November 11.
The Colts’ 2022 season just started getting really tumultuous about two and a half weeks ago. But for Colts linebacker Shaquille Leonard, the entire season has been rocky.
Leonard underwent back surgery to repair a nerve that was causing pain in his left calf and ankle since the start of the 2021 offseason. He missed all of training camp and then sat out the first three games of the regular season.
But then he only returned for 16 snaps in Week 4 before suffering a concussion and broken nose. That caused the linebacker to miss three more games.
Leonard has been back the last two weeks but on a pitch count. Even keeping his snaps limited, Leonard doesn’t feel like himself and admitted on November 10 that it’s been his film study that’s allowed him to play.
“The past two games, I see myself moving around better, but it’s still not there,” Leonard told the media. “That nerve still isn’t firing into my calf, so it’s just a lot of film study. I think that’s the reason why I can play today is because of how much film that I’ve watched, and I gotta put myself into position to make a play because I know I’m a step behind.”
Leonard Fighting to Get Back to Form
At his best, Leonard is an All-Pro caliber linebacker. But this season, he’s just been fighting to be in the lineup.
The Colts received a boost when he returned to the practice field on August 31. But the organization took Leonard’s surgery very seriously and used a cautious approach for his linebacker’s return.
Then the new injuries in Week 4 set Leonard back again.
Add it all up, and there’s been no rhythm to Leonard’s 2022 season. He described on November 10 how difficult that’s been to deal with this fall.
“It’s hard being in and out, especially one, not being a starter, to missing games or splitting reps, not playing, pitch count, there’s a lot of frustration,” Leonard said. “It’s a lot of things that I can’t control.”
Colts Miss the All-Pro Form From Leonard
While the defense hasn’t really been the problem for Indianapolis this season, the Colts still badly miss the level of play they received from Leonard each of the last two years.
In 2021, Leonard led the NFL with 8 forced fumbles. He also had 4 interceptions, 4 tackles for loss and 3 quarterback hits.
During 2020, Leonard posted 3.0 sacks and 7 tackles for loss. He recorded 254 total tackles in the two seasons combined.
With Leonard at the center of the Colts defense last season, Indianapolis recorded 33 takeaways, which was the second most in the NFL. Behind those takeaways, the Colts posted a plus-14 turnover differential, which was tied for the best mark in the league.
Without Leonard playing at an All-Pro level this fall, Indianapolis is ranked 19th in takeaways this season with only 9 in 9 games.
At the same time, the Colts are turning it over at a far greater rate this season too. Indianapolis has 17 giveaways through 9 weeks, which leads the NFL.
That’s led to a dramatic change in turnover differential for the Colts. Indianapolis owns a minus-8 turnover margin, which is second-worst in the league.
Essentially, the Colts are averaging one fewer possession per game than their opponents because of giveaways/takeaways.
Leonard’s recovery process is part of the reason why. He’s not making the same impactful plays as previous years.
At least not yet. There are still 8 games remaining this season.