WESTFIELD, Ind. — The Indianapolis Colts beat the heat and the rain with an opening-day training camp practice Wednesday morning.
Among the players on the field at Grand Park in Westfield was star linebacker Shaq Leonard. A sight for sore eyes, Leonard has spent the better part of a year recovering from a lingering back injury.
General manager Chris Ballard said on Tuesday that Leonard passed his physical, but that it didn't mean he would be back participating in full contact quite yet. He said Leonard would be out practicing individually and building his endurance back up.
"He has worked extremely hard. There's really no timeline on exactly when he'll be completely cleared for contact, but it's good to get him back out there," Ballard said. "Just his presence back on the team, back out in drill work is important for us."
It's been a question of how healthy Leonard is heading into this season. Only having played three games a year ago while being such an integral part of this Colts defense, his health is something fans are keeping an eye on. Surprisingly, not only did Leonard do individual drill work on Wednesday, but during the very first 11-on-11 team period, Leonard was running with the number one defense.
It's been quite the journey for Leonard, but this was an incredibly encouraging sign regarding his progress. "The Maniac" said this is as good as he's felt in a long, long time.
"It's been a long journey. You see a lot of bad things. People saying I'm just sitting out to sit out. Not understanding that I was fighting my tail off to get back and be the best version of myself for this team," Leonard said after day one of training camp. "To come out here and just hearing the crowd excited for me to get back on the field, that was just reassurance that these fans are still with me and I'm doing something right. Hopefully, I can continue to make them proud."
"It's awesome to have him back," head coach Shane Steichen said. "The energy he brings. I know he has been grinding and taking care of his body to get back out there. We'll slowly progress him back in and just really thankful and thrilled for him to be back out there with his teammates."
The difference Leonard makes to this Colts defense speaks for itself. 13Sports will continue to have updates on his progress. The Colts are off on Thursday, returning back to the training camp grind on Friday.