The Indianapolis Colts kick off their season on Sunday against the Houston Texans, but at this point, the status of three-time All-Pro linebacker Shaquille Leonard remains up in the air.
Leonard recently re-joined his team in practice after missing the entirety of the Colts' training camp. Shaq is still in the process of rehabbing following offseason back surgery, and at this point, Indianapolis head coach Frank Reich isn't prepared to confirm Leonard's availability for Sunday.
According to the 60-year-old, the Colts are going to want to see how their star linebacker responds to a week of practice before making a final decision (via Joel E. Erickson of the IndyStar):
“That’s the approach we’re taking,” Reich said. “Let’s get out there and practice, and keep making progress. Don’t force anything, but let’s keep making progress.”
When asked if the Colts will ease Shaq back into action by limiting his minutes in Week 1, Reich admitted that this could be a viable option:
“No doctor has said that to me, but it feels like that might be the right thing to do,” Reich said. “My brain says, yeah, he’ll probably have a pitch count playing in his first game, but I’m not going to make it an absolute, because what you find over the years is sometimes different players respond differently.”
Shaquille Leonard has been one of, if not the Colts' best player over the past few years. He's obviously a very important member of this group, and you can be sure that Indianapolis will do everything it can to avoid a setback in his injury.
“The injury’s kind of a unique injury,” Reich said. “If he gets to a point where he’s comfortable and they say, 20 plays or 70 plays, it’s all the same from a conditioning standpoint, if he’s ready to go, then you let him play. It’s Shaq, he’s a great player. But we want to be smart.”
There's clearly a lot of uncertainty surrounding Leonard's status right now, and it feels like we're headed to a game-time decision here.
Follow Us
Subscribe