After spending much of the 2022 season out with various ailments, outside linebacker Shaquille Leonard has finally gotten to a point where he feels like himself again. Taking the field for training camp this week marked the first time since Week 9 that Leonard played any sort of football with pads on, a milestone in his recovery that did not go unnoticed by him.
"It was very emotional just to come out here and just to have full contact and just get back in the element of playing football," Leonard told NFL Network's Stacey Dales on Inside Training Camp Live on Sunday. "It's been a long journey, and I'm just happy and excited to be able to come out here and play for this team."
Leonard missed the first part of the most recent season while rehabbing from offseason back surgery, only to come back in Week 4 and immediately suffer a concussion and broken nose, which sidelined him for an additional three weeks. Leonard played in two more games in October before a return of his back issues led to him having surgery and being placed on injured reserve for the remainder of the season. All-told, Leonard played just 74 snaps in three games, recording eight tackles and an interception.
For someone who in his first four years had been a consistent top player at his position, making three Pro Bowl rosters and rarely missing time due to injuries, this was a difficult time, and Leonard told Dales that there was a point in his recovery where he wasn't sure if he was ever going to get back on the field.
"Not being able to do a calf raise, just feeling pain every morning when you wake up, can't bend, can't lift, can't twist, so you have them thoughts," Leonard said. "But you just have to make sure you continue to fight through all the bad things that you're going through, and truly just focus on the wins, the small wins, the small gains every day, and that's what's getting me through it.
"...It's been hard, very emotional, a lot of stress, going through a lot of pain and unknown, and just a lot of mixed emotions, not knowing if I'd ever be back, if I would ever run the same, play the same, if I would feel no pain. And luckily, I just kind of kept my head down and just followed the plan and trusted the process, and put all the faith in the big man upstairs, and luckily I'm here just enjoying and embracing every moment."
Leonard said he feels "very close" to 100 percent at this point of camp, and can now turn his attention to bettering himself. The 28-year-old said he doesn't want to just get back to his previous form, but improve himself and find ways to account for any weak spots in his game.
"It's just for one, to get to the most athletic place I can be, and then I have to be the smartest guy on the field to put myself in the best position for me to make plays," he said. "So a lot more film study, just trying to understand what teams are going to do and put myself in position to make plays and understand that maybe I might have some slow tendencies, so I've just got to pick it up in another place."
The Colts have not announced yet whether Leonard or the other starters will see time during the preseason, or whether Leonard will have to wait until Week 1 to officially make his return to gameplay, but there's little doubt that it will be an emotional moment when he does officially get back to in-game action.
