INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- It was time, Shaq Leonard said. After undergoing surgeries every offseason since his career with the Colts began in 2018, the pain and the physical limitations became too much, inspiring Leonard to sign with and retire as a Colt before Sunday's home game against the Raiders..
"Mentally, emotionally, it's tough (to walk away)," Leonard said in a pre-game press conference attended by Leonard's family, general manager Chris Ballard and Colts co-owner Kalen Jackson. "But physically, it was time. It was time...My body was wearing down... I wouldn't change anything...I'm grateful for the opportunity, just grateful to be here today."
In four seasons with the Colts, Leonard, a linebacker, averaged 134.5 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and 3.8 sacks per year. He was Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2018 and All-Pro four times. He also forced 17 fumbles, intercepted 11 passes and recovered seven fumbles. No player since Charles "Peanut" Tillman was more adept than Leonard on the "punch-out."
Said Ballard:
"I wish I could take credit for being the one who took (Leonard). "I mean, I pulled the card, but (area scout) Jamie Moore wore me out for three for four months about Darius and finally wore us down. "
Leonard was a small-town kid from Lake View, S.C., and a small-school prospect from South Carolina State. Over time, though, Indy became home. The Colts became home. It was important for him to retire a Colt.
"Because this organization, this community gave me absolutely everything I could have wished for," Leonard said. "There's no Shaq Leonard without the Colts. I knew, if and when I walked away, I wanted to walk away as a member of the Horseshoes. I didn't want to play for anybody else."
His next step? He's going to coach his Lake View High School football team.
"I stopped watching football," he said. "It was just making me mad, seeing the game and just wishing that I was out there.
"Once I started coaching, I found a new urge and found a love of the game once again, just making them better. I feel like I found my purpose. When I was playing, I knew what my purpose was, to come out here and be the best version of myself,. But then when I didn't have that, it was, ``Who am I know? What am I going to do.' And to have that with these (high school) kids, it was great; it made me smile. They made me fall back in love with football. It's fun now."
Bob Kravitz is an award-winning columnist who has been in the sports journalism business for 43 years. He's worked at Sports Illustrated, the Indianapolis Star, The Athletic and other publications, and is now an Indiana-based publisher at Roundtable Sports. You can follow him on X @bkravitz.