The Indianapolis Colts shocked the NFL world when they decided to release LB Shaquille Leonard.
Now, with the Philadelphia Eagles, Leonard's performance in Week 16 caught the eye of many covering the team.
Leonard had his best game as an Eagle in Week 16, leading the team with seven tackles and had a sack. His first sack since 2020, before the injury that would lead to his release from the Colts.
He didn't hold back after his solid day, as he had choice words directed at his former team's decision to give up on him.
He claims that the Colts wrote him off and talked down on his name. While the first part of that is warranted, they did make the choice that not playing him would make them a better football team this season. In their defense, though, Leonard struggled throughout this season before they came to that realization. The second part, "talked down on my name," is where I feel the need to push back on his statement and support the Colts.
Even through what felt like a hard business move, the Colts organization and Leaonrd's former teammates have had nothing but positive things to say about the former Colts LB. And at the end of the day, they released him because they believed in the long run, he would rather that than be a healthy inactive for the rest of the season, which was their first plan.
Even after a statement like that, I'm sure his former teammates and former team will continue to support Leonard and root for him going forward. I, myself, will do the same. I hope this past week's performance is the first of many as Leonard continues to battle back from his injury. And I hope he can prove the Colts and many others (including myself) wrong. Because the player he was with the Colts this season warranted the release.
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