The Indianapolis Colts are entering a new era of their franchise, with their hopes tied to the career resurrection of a once-tossed-to-the-side quarterback, a potentially emerging elite offense, and a younger, faster defense.
In past eras, however, the Colts have had some excellent defensive players, going back to Bob Sanders, who helped Indy win the Super Bowl in 2007 with Payton Manning at quarterback. Since then, the Colts have not been very successful, but they have had some great players along the way, like Sanders.
Unfortunately, not every story has a happy ending, much like the most recent divorce between the Colts and Adonai Mitchell, whom the Colts traded mid-season last year. It was messy, but needed. That was the Colts' only messy divorce in recent memory, however, because former Colts linebacker Shaquille Leonard experienced his own exit that stung in the moment and stings still.
Former Indianapolis Colts' linebacker Shaquille Leonard details his heartbroken reaction to leaving Indy
It's always tough to see a tenure with a team end due to a significant injury. This was the case with Leonard, who was never the same after suffering a debilitating herniated disc issue in his lower back, which ended up resulting in back surgery during the 2022 NFL season, Leonard's sixth and final season in Indianapolis.
Leonard's NFL career was over at that point, but it would take one final try at football with the Philadelphia Eagles before it came to a close for good. Leonard played in five games for the Eagles for the remainder of that 2023 season, after being released by the Colts in November of that same year. It was the 2022 season that did Leonard in, however, where he played in just three games.
Leonard's exit from the Colts was painful for him, and just recently, the former three-time Pro Bowler went on former Colts tight end Eric Ebron's YouTube show, On My Soul, to talk about his time in Indy and how he felt he was treated by the Colts' organization after his injury. Suffice it to say, Leonard did not hold back any emotion and bared his, well, soul.
"I don't think that I could take that mental hurt again when you give everything to somebody or an organization, and they said that I was a bad teammate?" Leonard explained. "They said that I wasn't doing treatment to make myself better? And I'm spending all this money, bringing all these people in, trying to get ready to go play for these guys? That's what broke my heart. And when I say it broke my heart, it broke my heart to a point where I said I don't wanna play in the NFL anymore."
It's obvious Leonard was deeply hurt by how the Colts handled his situation. Moreover, he was hurt by how Gus Bradley, who ran the Colts’ defense in 2022, treated him in the middle of it all, as Leonard would also tell Ebron.
Leonard's career never reached the heights teased by his first four years in the league with the Colts. Between 2018 and 2021, Leonard was already on a Hall of Fame trajectory. In his first four seasons with the Colts, Leonard was named to three Pro Bowls, three First-Team All-Pros, and a Second-Team All-Pro, and was also named the Defensive Rookie of the Year in his opening 2018 season.
Those accolades were more than deserved thanks to Leonard's 538 tackles, 15.0 sacks, 17 fumbles forced, 30 pass breakups, and 11 interceptions in those four seasons. Leonard was on his way to the Hall of Fame, but his body failed, and he never recovered. Because of that, Leonard never saw a seventh NFL season.
More tragically was Leonard's loss of love for football during all of this. The back and nerve issues Leonard dealt with didn't help things, but his situation goes to show how an organization's treatment of players can make or break their experience, and in Leonard's case, a career. Still, Leonard remains a Colts legend, even if he shone for such a short time.