Last season, the New York Jets met with great frustration during an 8-8 campaign that generated more questions than answers. As trying as it was, few suffered as did Jim Leonhard.
For the second year in a row, the 29-year-old safety saw his season cut short by injury after tearing the patellar tendon in his right knee against the Kansas City Chiefs on December 11.
Leonhard told Jenny Vrentas of The Star-Ledger on Saturday there's "no doubt" he'll be ready for training camp.
Which training camp remains an unknown, as Leonhard is a free agent. Multiple teams have expressed interest, but he believes the Jets -- despite the presence of veterans Eric Smith and the recently signed LaRon Landry -- remains a good fit.
"There's still a very good possibility it could be the best situation for me," Leonhard said. "You never know. Things could change in the next two weeks with the draft; things could be better here, better there. It's just hard to try to predict the future, and that's been the hardest part."
Leonhard continued: "Knowing this defense and how it works, you honestly can never have too many safeties; we're not opposed to having three to four on the field at the same time. It's not something where once they signed (Landry), we said our future is definitely elsewhere. You never know. I know Rex, and I know the defensive staff. I know the defense is a great fit for me, it's just when the time comes, is it going to be the right situation?"
Leonhard's running has been restricted to a treadmill -- he's not cleared to run on the ground yet -- but Ryan loves his guys (he brought Leonhard over from Baltimore). General manager Mike Tannenbaum said after signing Landry that it didn't mark the end for Leonard in New York. This makes sense considering Landry's injury history with the Washington Redskins.
We wouldn't be surprised if Leonhard signs a short-term deal to return to the team he feels comfortable with.
