The Indianapolis Colts were without one of their best defenders in Week 1 — linebacker Shaquille Leonard, who is still rehabbing from back surgery. The Colts could have used Leonard in the season opener, which ended in a tie against the Houston Texans.
Indianapolis head coach Frank Reich did not rule out Leonard for Week 2 when talking to reporters on September 12. But that’s not really on the minds of Colts fans at the moment. The most pertinent question Indianapolis faces is whether Rodrigo Blankenship will remain the team’s kicker going forward.
Blankenship missed a potential game-winning field goal in overtime of the 20-20 tie. The Colts kicker also booted two kickoffs out of bounds.
Reich Changes Tune on Blankenship in Press Conference
In his postgame press conference on September 11, Reich expressed confidence in Blankenship, saying “in my mind, he’s our kicker.” Outside of the overtime miss, Blankenship kicked fine in the season opener, making 2 other field goals and 2 extra points.
But Reich did add in his postgame presser that “everybody gets evaluated,” and that the Colts won’t “rush into those kinds of decisions.” Apparently after reevaluating, Reich isn’t still saying Blankenship is “our kicker.”
What Reich did say in his press conference on September 12 was he and general manager Chris Ballard planned to discuss Blankenship’s status in their weekly Monday meeting.
“Chris [Ballard] and I will sit down and have a long talk about that tonight,” said Reich.
Considering Reich is a rather positive coach, the face he didn’t continue to express confidence in Blankenship on September 12 could be a sign the Colts are ready for a change at kicker.
Reich also alluded to Blankenship’s mindset during his latest press conference, which is not a good sign for the 25-year-old kicker.
Leonard’s Status Heading into Week 2
The return of the 3-time first-team All-Pro linebacker will not fix all of Indianapolis’ issues from Week 1. But if he played versus the Texans, maybe the superstar defender turns a tie into a narrow victory.
If he can suit up against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 2, that would be a big boost for the Colts. Reich didn’t rule that out from happening, but Leonard still has a long way to go.
“As I sit here right now, I’d like to say, ‘hey, he’s got a chance to play’ … but we’ve gotta make progress from where we were last week,” Reich said according to NFL staff writer Zak Keefer of The Athletic.
Leonard underwent back surgery on June 7 and spent all of training camp on the PUP list. He didn’t come off the PUP list until the final roster cutdown day.
The linebacker began practicing the very next day (August 31), but he’s only been back on the field for 13 days. Leonard was limited in practice during Week 1 as soon as the pads went on for the Colts.
Without Leonard in Week 1, fellow linebacker E.J. Speed played 54.29% of the team’s defensive snaps. Two other linebackers, Zaire Franklin and Bobby Okereke, played 100% of the Colts’ defensive snaps.
Franklin and Okereke were 1 of 6 defensive players who played every snap for the Colts during Week 1.
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