Shaquille Leonard’s annoyance increases due to playing time restrictions caused by injuries Proceed

Over the past year, Shaquille Leonard has developed a tight relationship with injuries, which has caused him to become increasingly frustrated. Leonard is unhappy with the little playing time he has received despite making a comeback to the field and appearing in seven of Indianapolis’ first eight games this season.

Leonard told reporters on Thursday, “I just feel like each week I prove who I am,” in an attempt to vent his dissatisfaction. Every week, I get better and better at playing the game. However, they claim that I don’t produce enough splash plays, so I suppose I’ll continue to watch for a while.

Leonard’s fight with a groin issue and chronic back aggravation from a prior injury that limited him to just three games in 2022 are the reasons for the decreased quantity of snaps. The Colts planned to progressively raise Leonard’s playing time in 2023 while taking his back injury into account. As a result, he had a considerable decline in snap counts. In Week 4, he had a season-low 36 snaps, or 46.2 percent of the Colts’ defensive plays, down from 85.5 percent in Week 1.

Though Leonard had set November as his goal to be fully recovered, he worries that the coaching staff might not be as optimistic about his development. More about me personally, I believe. Personally, I don’t believe that to be the case. (My snap numbers will probably) be comparable, if not worse. All I’m going to do is go out and perform in as many plays as I can. Proceed from there.

During his interview with reporters, Leonard expressed his dissatisfaction with his current position and his inability to obtain more possibilities. He now understands that fellow linebacker E.J. Speed, who is having a great season, will get more playing time and he won’t be the main man in Indianapolis’ defense.

Leonard was not happy with the result, even though he accepted that the coaching team had informed him of their goals. “I kind of know a little bit,” he said. If I’m going to split repetitions with E.J. on first and second (down), they’ll let me know. I am aware that third down is not mine. I kind of understand what it is. It is what it is, like it or not.

It is imperative to highlight that Leonard is not on the sidelines in Indianapolis; thus far this season, he has participated in 72.3 percent of defensive snaps. Because of his recent history of injuries, the Colts are just being careful. But Leonard wants more playing time to show that his health worries are unfounded since he has a strong sense of competition. He wants to take advantage of every chance he gets for the time being in the hopes that his coaches will offer him more snaps down the road. Leonard is solely in charge of what he does on the field until that time.