Colts’ Leaders Reveal Feelings on Shaquille Leonard’s Departure

The news sent shockwaves through the NFL when the Indianapolis Colts released former All-Pro linebacker Shaquille Leonard.

A stalwart on this defense for years, Leonard’s tenure in Indianapolis is over. Frustrations over playing time combined with deteriorating play led to the Colts parting ways with one of their most decorated defensive players in franchise history. Leonard’s legacy will not soon be forgotten by fans and those within the organization alike.

Great teammate, great leader, a ton of respect for what he’s done over the six years he was here with this organization, not only the team, but the city,” head coach Shane Steichen said on Wednesday. “Releasing players is never easy, is never easy, especially a player like him. We wish him all the best going forward.”

But as shocked as fans and the rest of the league were when hearing the news, it does not compare to what Leonard’s now former teammates are feeling inside that locker room. Some players had been teammates with Leonard from the moment they entered the league. They had gone to war with The Maniac, experiencing the ups and downs the Colts have gone through in the five and a half years Leonard was with the franchise.

One player who has been close with Leonard ever since he arrived in Indy is DeForest Buckner. When the Colts traded for Buckner in 2020, the two formed an All-Pro tandem for the Colts defense. Buckner knew the type of player Leonard was at his peak, but also the type of person he was off the field.

“Shaq – he’s one of one,” Buckner explained, head down. “He’s one hell of a person, one hell of a teammate, player. The energy that he’d bring every day he’d put a smile on your face. It’s definitely a tough one to see him let go yesterday. It’s a tough part of the business. It’s just hard. It’s always hard seeing your teammates – whether they get traded or cut. This one definitely hit home a little bit more just because of the person he is, the player he is and the way he always seeks to help others – that’s definitely going to be missed.”

Another teammate who likely knew Leonard better than anyone is Zaire Franklin. Leonard and Franklin were part of the Colts’ 2018 draft class and grew up in the NFL together. The two pushed each other to get better every day since they entered the league, with both being team captains for multiple seasons. To go from potentially one of the top linebacking duos in the league to being separated for the first time as professionals will take some adjusting.

“Honestly, just surprised,” Franklin replied in a low voice when asked what his emotions were. “I talked to him a little bit Monday when he was leaving the building. He kind of told me what was going to happen. To be honest, I didn’t believe it. It sounded so crazy to me. Being here for the whole journey, for the whole ride, it was hard to kind of see it coming to an end like that. But when I got the news, I shot him a text, told him how much he meant to me, told him how much I care about him, how much I believed in everything that he was about. It’s tough, but we have to move forward.”

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The defense is not the only group that will feel the loss of Leonard. The linebacker impacted the entire team, no matter where you played or your standing on the depth chart. Players on the offensive side of the ball have been affected just as much as anyone else in that locker room.

“You lose a guy that everybody has so much respect for, and you know is a great leader for us, a great guy in the locker room and a great player,” Gardner Minshew remarked. “Obviously, any time whether it’s through that, trades or somebody getting hurt, everybody just has to raise up that much more. We have to have leaders step up in the locker room. Definitely a guy that we will miss having around.”

“He’s a leader on this team and he has been a leader on this team,” Jonathan Taylor said candidly. “He’s been a major, major contributor to this team and also he’s been a major contributor to the community. You guys saw it the other day he was handing out turkeys. When something like that happens it hurts. It hurts. Especially good energy coming off the bye. I didn’t see that one coming.”

It’s true. Despite receiving the devastating news yesterday that he was being cut by the only NFL team he had called home, it did not stop Leonard from attending his annual turkey drive. Leonard handed out 200 turkeys on Tuesday night to those less fortunate in the Indianapolis community who would not otherwise have a Thanksgiving dinner. Leonard, joined by some of his teammates, kept smiling through it all as he gave back to the community one last time.

While the wound is fresh, the Colts must turn their attention to the task at hand. Although they feel for their brother, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are coming to town on Sunday. Regardless of their emotions, the Colts need to take care of business at home as they strive to keep their playoff hopes alive.

The question is, will the Colts let the loss of Leonard be a distraction as they prepare for the Bucs?

“It’s going to be on us in this locker room – the other leaders – to try to help everybody rally because that’s a big hit,” Taylor admitted. “So, it’s going to be up to us, the other leaders inside of this locker room to try to help rally guys and bring guys back together to focus on the task. It’s going to be tough, but we have to do it.”

“Look, we just have to focus on Tampa,” Franklin insisted. “We have a great team coming in on Sunday with a lot of explosive players that we have to take care of. Obviously, his presence and everything about him is missed – look man, his locker was next to mine for years. You get what I’m saying? So everything I’ve got going on in the building, how I’m moving in the building just feels different without him here. But like I said, it’s a tough business but we’ve got to keep moving forward.”

The business of the NFL is brutal, and no one understands that more than the players inside those locker rooms. At the same time, those players know they have a job to do and cannot let their feelings get in the way of accomplishing that.

Leonard may be gone, but he is certainly not forgotten, and the best way for the Colts to honor their former teammate is to get the win on Sunday.

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