Three-time Pro Bowl selection Shaquille Leonard will officially retire on Sunday afternoon as an Indianapolis Colt. Last seen taking an NFL snap in 2023 with the Philadelphia Eagles, Leonard returns to the stadium where he terrorised offences during his golden 2018-2021 period.
Leonard played all but five of his NFL games for the Colts. It is fitting that he returns to Indianapolis to retire in the uniform of the team he served with such distinction. The man nicknamed “Maniac” will act as a pre-game anvil-striker before making a halftime appearance to speak to the fans. Hailing from humble beginnings, Leonard’s time in the NFL was short but spectacular.
From Nicholls to Bulldogs Stardom
Born in Nicholls, South Carolina, in 1995, Darius Shaquille Leonard is one of nine children. While two of his older brothers were sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, Leonard followed in the footsteps of another sibling, former Saints linebacker Anthony Waters, and plotted a course for the NFL.
Having lined up for Lake View High School, Leonard moved on to the South Carolina State Bulldogs. Earning a First-Team All-Conference selection in his sophomore year of 2015, he was named the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 2016 and 2017.
2018: Maniac Arrives in Indianapolis
Ranked among the hottest linebacker prospects in the country, the Indianapolis Colts selected Leonard in the second round of the 2018 draft. The Colts’ decision to take Leonard with the 36th overall pick was criticised by some. By the end of his first season, those critics were eating humble pie.
Immediately handed a starting role as weakside linebacker, Leonard tore it up in his rookie year. Kicking off with nine tackles and a recovered fumble against the Bengals, by the end of Week 4, Leonard had 54 combined tackles – the best Week 4 tally of any player since 1994.
The records continued to fall in 2018. By week 15, Leonard’s 143 combined tackles were the most of any rookie in Colts’ history. Two weeks later, his new tally of 163 led the NFL and stood as an all-time Colts’ franchise record.
On the back of those stellar numbers, enhanced by seven sacks, six pass breakups, and four forced fumbles, Leonard received Associated Press (AP) First-Team All-Pro honours and was named the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year. Alongside teammate Quenton Nelson, Leonard became the first Colt to receive All-Pro Honours as a rookie since Hall of Fame running back Edgerrin James in 1999.
2019-2021: Heartbeat of the Defence
An early concussion saw Leonard miss three games in 2019. However, he rebounded in style with 121 tackles and became the first player since 1982 with 10+ sacks and 5+ interceptions in their first 25 NFL games.
By season’s end, he had become the eighth player in NFL history to achieve five sacks and five interceptions in a single season, and the first to do so despite playing under 15 games. Leonard earned his first Pro Bowl selection in 2019.
By 2020, Leonard was established as the beating heart of the Colts’ defence. He made it four consecutive 120+ tackle seasons, with 132 in 2020 and 122 in 2021, to earn his second and third Pro Bowl selections.
2022-2023: Injury Strikes
Leonard was late to return in 2022, missing the first three games following pre-season back surgery. In truth, he was never quite the same player again. Suffering a concussion on his comeback and a subsequent recurrence of his back issues, he played only three times in 2022.
2023 was more productive, with Leonard appearing in nine games and picking up 65 combined tackles for the Colts. However, frustration at dropping down the depth chart led to a November switch to the Philadelphia Eagles, for whom he played the final five games of his career.
Teammate Pays Tribute
With the rigours of those back issues taking a toll, Leonard has chosen this moment to officially call time on a memorable career. He hangs up his helmet with 614 tackles, 32 tackles for a loss, 31 passes defenced, 12 interceptions, 17 forced fumbles, seven fumble recoveries, and 15 sacks, in just 70 games.
Selected alongside Leonard in the 2018 draft, close friend and teammate Zaire Franklin paid tribute to his ability as a player: “He’s a special player. He brought energy to the locker room, to the team, to the field, like nobody else, man.” Franklin added, “So glad that he’s finally getting the honour that he deserves and the flowers that he deserves. And I’m happy for him and his family that he’s able to witness that and just see how he impacted this place in a positive way.”
Shaquille Leonard: Career Honours
- NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year – 2018
- AP First-Team All-Pro – 2018, 2020, 2021
- AP Second-Team All-Pro – 2019
- Pro Bowl – 2019, 2020, 2021