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4 Colts players trending towards an offseason exit in Indianapolis

The Indianapolis Colts are more than halfway through the 2023 season and it already seems like some players are playing their last year with the team.

By Kurt Breidenstein

Indianapolis Colts v New England Patriots
Indianapolis Colts v New England Patriots / Ralf Ibing - firo sportphoto/GettyImages
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The Indianapolis Colts have been much better than expected this season. Indy is currently 5-5, and with seven regular season games remaining, Indy has one of the league’s easiest remaining schedules. That puts the Colts firmly in the playoff hunt. However, it hasn’t been all good Indianapolis this season.

Demonstrated by the record, Indy has had some ups and downs. That includes some players playing surprisingly well and others underperforming. With that being the case, it’s never a bad time to start speculating about the upcoming roster in 2024. Let’s take a look at four players that are identified as roster bubble players heading into the final weeks of the season. Unless things change over the remaining weeks of the season, these four players could be playing their final games as members of the Colts.

4. LB Shaquille Leonard has already exited the Colts

Full transparency: this list was created before Shaq Leonard was waived by the team on Tuesday. That’s why the move wasn’t really shocking; the timimg of it was, though. It seemed like Indy would wait until the offseason, but either way, here’s why it was the right decision.

Much has been written about and discussed about the future of Shaquille Leonard since his injury last year that knocked him out for most of the season. In lieu of re-hashing some old content on this, it's very simple. Leonard was owed nearly $20 Million dollars next season and he has not lived up to that contract this season.

The Colts had an out at the end of this season where they could cut him outright and only take an $8 million dead cap hit. With the emergence of Zaire Franklin and the continued growth of EJ Speed, Leonard’s role has decreased. When you play at a high level for an extended period of time, it can take a toll on the body. Through all of general manager Chris Ballard’s faults, he has drafted the linebacker position very well and would expect them to move on and use a high draft pick to find his replacement.

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