Darius Leonard of Colts

I heard Darius Leonard of the Colts is not happy as a backup. Can he play the middle? I recall he had several monstrous seasons for Colts and injuries kept him out last season.
I remember fans were upset that we picked Terrell Edmunds ahead of Leonard.
If he can play the middle, don't mind trading a 5th rounder for him.

 

The trade deadline has passed.

 

watching Robert Spillane tonite, he's having a great year for the Raiders. Just pickoff a pass in the red zone. Wish we never let him go.

 

An excellent idea... minus a couple of factors. They are as follows:


1.) As you said, injuries have been nagging him for some time. Never mind those injuries alone, the frequency at which they are occurring is equally concerning. Given the fact he plays a position that is very contact oriented, might not be within the best investment there.


2.) Trade Deadline is over I am afraid. Hell, even in the Offseason, I seriously doubt the Colts would move on from Leonard for merely a fifth. Likely a Second given the fact he is a four time All Pro; Three First Team. That is not something that is easy to do by any stretch. Heck, not even RoQuan Smith or Fred Warner can say that and both are considered the best two ILBs from their draft class.


3.) Cap hit. Now, the Colts do have a potential out in 2024 per Sportrac here. However, his Cap Hit of roughly $20 Million in 2024 is what really stings. Currently, the Steelers are projected to have $8,189,460 under the cap per OverTheCap. Sure, the team could opt to restructure some contracts to free up money to make a run for Leo but given what the 2024 NFL FA Class of ILBers look like, I doubt the team would elect to do so.



Overall, while I could see Leo being traded somewhere else, I severely doubt he will be a Steeler. Too many factors working against him.

 

They added starters who were better than him. Just bad luck that they both got injured.

 

I’m nearly certain he also leads the Raiders in tackles. What we wouldn’t do to have him back as a Steeler right about now. Also the int he got vs the jets to all but seal that game was by no means a gimme pick.

 

Spillane was a huge liability in the passing game and one picked off throw in the red zone doesn't change that.

 

He's actually got three interceptions on the year. I'm willing to bet that's more than all of our inside backers combined this year

 

So? We saw what he was. Holcomb and Alexander are both better. The Steelers upgraded. Sure, they would take him now, but that is only because they just lost both starters to freak injuries.

 

Would have to be after the season is over since the trade deadline has passed

 

I just Googled nick Kwiakowski and could not find anything recent, is he not signed to a team? He is not the like the guys we lost, but was in full camp, we need bodies lol

 

thats not his first this year.

 

Didn't he get hurt in camp?

 

thank you for reminding those that do not understand this

so - I do have this Q.

we have spent our CAP $$$$$ for 2023 - when, 2, 3 10 players go out w Season ending injuries, do you not have any $$$ prorated to you to sign other players? How does that work?

We will get annihilated without help in the middle, if we can't buy / sign someone......

 

Spillane was just pedestrian in our D, in our scheme. we upgraded - just SUCKS with the injuries.

 

https://sports.yahoo.com/4-free-agent-inside-linebackers-010729790.html

 

We need a healthy Minka back quickly, he would help with communication problems
we are having in the back end. As far as ILB goes we will have to scour all the avenues
we can to get somebody ready to atleast back up what we already have on the roster.

 

Trade deadline is gone!!!

 

1. The trade deadline has passed

2. Clearly some folks have forgotten what Spillane looked like in coverage

 

He has been decent, but Holcomb and Alexander are better. I don't think he was going to come back as a reserve when the Raiders were willing to make him a starter.

 

Not to nitpick, but were Leonard to be traded past the fifth day of the new league year the cap hit to his new team would be ~$14M for 2024; the signing and roster bonus charges would remain with the Colts. They could obviously try to set up a trade partner before that day to at least send the $2M roster bonus to the new team, but that could prove difficult with some of his injury/performance questions as his salary becomes fully guaranteed on the fifth day of 2024 as well.

OTC has the Steelers $8M under their projected 2024 cap of ~$258M. This is a reasonable projection given the revenue the league will receive this year from the reworked 2023 media deals (the cap going into this season was $228M), but it must also be noted that the current $250M charged to the Steelers accounts for only 40 players. On top of that teams need ~$10M reserved for signing their draft picks and another $8M buffer for in-season signings/incentives.

The Steelers will be able to move some money around to make things work for themselves next season, but I can't see Leonard being a target at this stage in his career. They'd be much better off with a younger, cheaper option at ILB.

 

There is no pro-rated that I am aware of, any player on IR is counted against the CAP, and any player on the 53 for a specific time (like the week 10 +/-) the salary for the year is guaranteed.

 

Their new head coach said he is going to build the defense around Spillane. Pretty big vote of confidence. He has had a good year. I just wonder how he would have been not under olsavsky.

 

Yes in his previous 5 years in the league he only had one interception.

 

It was a big one, a pick-six against the Ravens.