Tag: Darius Leoanrd

WATCH: Darius Leonard forces another fumble vs. 49ers

WATCH: Colts LB Darius Leonard continues to put on a Peanut Punch clinic.

The Maniac simply cannot be stopped.

Indianapolis Colts linebacker Darius Leonard, who has made a living reviving the Peanut Punch, added another forced fumble to his name on Sunday night against the San Francisco 49ers.

On a wet and slippery night with torrential rain pouring down, Leonard used this as the perfect opportunity to use his craft of punching the ball out. This time he used his talents to punch a ball out of the hands of Deebo Samuel during the second quarter.

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Colts’ Darius Leonard on Carson Wentz: ‘We believe in him’

The Maniac sees a natural leader in Carson Wentz.

Indianapolis Colts linebacker Darius Leonard isn’t one to mince his words when it comes to how he feels. That’s why it’s encouraging to see the kind of faith he has in new quarterback Carson Wentz.

Though the team has only gone through 10 sessions of OTAs in a revised offseason workout schedule, Leonard told Doug Farrar in an interview with Touchdown Wire that the team is already buying into Wentz as the leader.

“Damn skippy! He’s a monster, man. Just watching him in OTAs and stuff, he’s got a cannon for an arm, and he’s huge. He looks like a tight end,” Leonard told Farrar. “I was eating breakfast one morning beside him, and he was so big, I didn’t know it was him, because everybody had their masks on. Then, somebody said something to him, and I’m like, ‘Damn. This dude is huge!’”

Wentz has seemingly transitioned into the Colts locker room with ease. If there’s one area that Wentz fits into, it seems the culture of the organization is it. There have been no complaints about his character, leadership or ability to connect with his teammates.

So, for now, it seems those reports coming out from Philly appear to be false.

“You would think that he’s been in this locker room for about seven years. He has this presence about him and his leadership role, and that’s what you need in a quarterback room,” Leonard said.

With the skill group the Colts have around Wentz, which includes an elite offensive line and one of the best running back rooms in the NFL, Leonard feels this is the perfect place for the 28-year-old quarterback to bounce back.

“We have a great offensive line that’s going to protect him. We have the best backfield in the NFL, in my opinion, and we have these great skill guys on the outside,” Leonard said. “He came into a perfect place to have success. We believe in him. We know who he is, and we know what he can be. I can’t wait to see what he and [head] Coach Frank [Reich] are going to step up and do.”

There are still plenty of questions that need answered when it comes to Wentz but with Leonard buying in so quickly, the optimism is likely to rise sooner rather than later.

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Colts get encouraging injury news on Darius Leonard, Xavier Rhodes

Their injuries don’t appear to be serious.

The Indianapolis Colts saw two of their starters go down with an injury during the second half of the 44-27 win over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 15 as linebacker Darius Leonard and cornerback Xavier Rhodes.

Though there wasn’t a big update from head coach Frank Reich on Monday in his press conference with reporters, he did say that the team doesn’t view their injuries to be serious.

“Also mention to you the injuries on Darius (Leonard) and Xavier (Rhodes), we will continue to monitor those,” Reich said. “They don’t appear to be serious, but we will monitor them during the week, but we’re optimistic that they’ll be fine.”

Rhodes suffered a knee injury during the third quarter of the game. He seemed to be in a lot of pain on the turf when he was getting checked out by the training staff and even though he was never officially ruled out for the game, he didn’t make a return.

Leonard went to the sideline in the fourth quarter with a back injury during the fourth quarter. By that time, the Colts had a sizeable lead and Leonard didn’t make a return. But he wasn’t ruled out either.

Both players are enjoying strong seasons at their respective positions in 2020. Rhodes is allowing a 42.9% completion rate and a 60.9 passer rating in coverage this season while Leonard is second on the team with 30 defensive stops, per Pro Football Focus.

Their injuries will bear monitoring throughout the week and it wouldn’t be a surprise if they are on the injury report, but it’s encouraging that Reich and the staff don’t see these injuries lingering too long.

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