Shaq Leonard Cut by Colts, Can Sign with Any Team Now
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00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 - Shaq Leonard here of the Colts released,
00:07 owed $6.1 million the rest of the season.
00:09 He cleared waivers.
00:10 Number one, when is he eligible to sign
00:12 with the football team?
00:13 And who are we looking at as possible teams
00:15 that he might sign with?
00:17 - All right, so Donnie, here's what happened.
00:19 So he signed a contract extension two years ago.
00:22 He then unfortunately had neck problems, he had surgery.
00:24 He has not been the same player.
00:25 Yes, he played a high degree of snaps for the Colts,
00:29 but when a club releases a player and they own 6 million,
00:34 it's still fully guaranteed.
00:35 His entire base salary of nearly 14 million
00:37 was fully guaranteed.
00:39 So the money that's left just over 6 million
00:41 is prorated for the rest of the season.
00:43 Now that he cleared waivers,
00:45 nobody would be responsible for that contract
00:46 except for the Colts.
00:48 So now going forward here, Donnie,
00:50 he could sign right now as we speak.
00:52 He was eligible after 4 p.m. Eastern yesterday
00:55 on Wednesday to sign with another team.
00:58 Now, I expect the Eagles have interest.
01:00 Why would they have interest?
01:01 It's not just Nick Sirianni knows him
01:02 for the days of the Colts.
01:04 N'Kobe Dane, Donnie,
01:05 who was one of the starting linebackers,
01:07 you might remember him,
01:08 a third round out of Georgia last year.
01:10 He's now suffered two sprain foots,
01:13 one to his right, one to his left.
01:14 He's on injured reserve.
01:15 They're down to two guys.
01:17 Zach Cunningham, who was released by the Titans,
01:18 who's actually done a very good job.
01:20 And Nick Morrow, who was a starter
01:23 for the Bears last season.
01:24 The Eagles cut him before the season started.
01:26 He filled in for N'Kobe Dane earlier this season
01:29 when Dane went on IR the first time.
01:31 Now he's on IR the second time.
01:32 So they have no depth.
01:34 So what Shaq Leonard has to ask himself is this,
01:37 is it about playing time or trying to win a ring?
01:41 Now, there are other teams, as I understand it,
01:42 out there interested for him,
01:45 but you're talking about the defending NFC champs
01:48 and they have a dire need for depth at linebacker.
01:51 Now, the question would be,
01:52 getting back to Leonard of the Colts,
01:54 what did they see?
01:55 Why did they not want him on the football team?
01:57 And the tape, the all 22, Donnie,
01:59 will tell you everything you need to know.
02:01 The fact that they released him
02:03 and they're still in the wildcard hunt and the AFC folks,
02:05 and they're not completely out of it for the AFC South.
02:08 (upbeat music)
02:10 [MUSIC]