Is LB a free agent? Is Shaq Leonard a suitable candidate to join the Buffalo Bills?
Why Leonard is unlikely to sign with the Buffalo Bills and why he cleared waivers

Shaquille “Shaq” Leonard, a linebacker, was waived by the Indianapolis Colts on Tuesday. He became a free agent on Wednesday after no NFL team, not even the Buffalo Bills, claimed him off waivers.

Leonard, who is in his age-28 year, was drafted by the Colts in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft. Leonard got right to work establishing himself as one of the best off-the-ball linebackers in the league, putting up huge number his rookie year: 163 combined tackles, seven sacks, two interceptions, eight passes defensed, four forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. Over the last five seasons, Leonard started 68 games for the Colts, earning First-Team All-Pro honors three times.

So why was he released? And why did no one claim him?

Last season Leonard underwent two back surgeries in an attempt to relieve some issues he was having with nerves that were impacting his lower body and subsequently causing him to lose some of his signature explosiveness. The surgeries limited him to just three games in 2022. Returning to action this season, the Colts were limiting Leonard’s playing time, but reportedly had told him that they would continue to monitor the situation and adjust as the season moved forward. But the adjustments that came weren’t to Leonard’s liking. Instead of getting more playing time, over the past few weeks he received less.

Leonard didn’t hesitate to question the Colts’ coaching staff and even made his displeasure public.

On Monday, Leonard was informed that he would be inactive when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers came to town on Sunday — and then, 24 hours later, Leonard was told that he was being waived. While Leonard said he didn’t know what changed, he did admit that it could be do to his questioning his playing time — two weeks ago he publicly made a comment about having been off the field for third downs and now the team was taking him out even more often.

“Everybody doesn’t understand my drive,” Leonard admitted, per ESPN’s Alex Kozora. “Everybody doesn’t understand how competitive I am. … It’s cool. There’s no hard feelings.”

As for passing through waivers, one could believe that might be due to the high price tag that would come with Leonard had he been claimed. If a team had claimed the former All-Pro linebacker, they would have owed him a sum of $6 million for the remainder of the 2023 season — a little more than apparently anyone wanted to pay for a linebacker whose production has fallen off (while he has 29 solo tackles through the first 10 weeks of this season, he hasn’t recorded any sacks nor forced any turnovers) and is trying to work his way back from a pair of significant surgeries.

Now that Leonard is officially a free agent, teams can negotiate a contract with the veteran, which would definitely make things a little more attractive for some teams. Front runners who have emerged in the Leonard-landing-watch include the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, and Pittsburgh Steelers.