Veteran NFL linebacker Shaquille Leonard is hoping to sign with an NFL team before the 2024 season begins, he recently confirmed. Once considered the best linebacker in the league, Leonard was named Defensive Rookie of the Year after leading the league in tackles in 2018. He later earned three Pro Bowl nods and inked a $99.25 million extension in 2021, making him the highest-paid linebacker in the NFL.
Injuries soon began derailing Leonard's career. The 2022 campaign welcomed recurring back issues, a concussion, and a broken nose. The Colts released Leonard from his sizable contract extension midway through 2023. He joined the Eagles but appeared to be a shell of his former self, and was a healthy scratch for their postseason defeat to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Now healthier and looking for a new opportunity, we’ve identified three teams that should consider signing Leonard.
CHICAGO BEARS
The Bears have a trio of solid starting-caliber linebackers. T.J. Edwards, Tremaine Edmunds, and Jack Sanborn will lead the line. Noah Sewell and Micah Baskerville are quality depth options. Signing with the Bears would remove any immediate pressure to perform from Leonard's shoulders while simply offering him an opportunity to compete for a 53-man roster spot. It would also reunite Leonard with arguably the two most important coaches in his professional career.
Bears head coach Matt Eberflus was Leonard's defensive coordinator in Indianapolis for four seasons (2018-21) and three First-Team All-Pro selections. Leonard's former linebackers position coach Dave Borgonzi also holds the same title under Eberflus in Chicago. Reuniting with familiar faces could help get his career back on track.
LOS ANGELES RAMS
The Rams have some questions at off-ball linebacker. Ernest Jones IV is one of the more underrated defenders in the league, but neither Christian Rozeboom nor Troy Reeder qualify as appropriate running mates opposite him. I'd like to see the Rams upgrade the position after failing to do so via the 2024 NFL Draft or through the first waves of free agency.
Les Snead and Sean McVay have routinely rolled the dice on aging veterans in recent years. New senior defensive assistant Sean Desai was the Eagles' defensive coordinator last season. There's some familiarity here as Leonard played in five games for Philadelphia in 2023, recording 23 tackles and one sack.
TENNESSEE TITANS
The Titans arguably have the most unproven group of linebackers in the NFL. The team leader in 2023 tackles Azeez Al-Shaair departed in free agency. He was replaced by former first-round bust Kenneth Murray, who is a reclamation project. More concerning, he's also Tennessee's No. 1 linebacker. New defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson has his work cut out for him.
Murray will be flanked by either Jack Gibbens, Cedric Gray, or Otis Reese IV. If you're keeping score, that's either a third-year undrafted free agent, rookie fourth-round pick, or second-year UDFA. The organization is familiar with Leonard, who routinely tormented them as a member of the Colts. Furthermore, new Titans defensive line coach Tracy Rocker was with Leonard in Philadelphia last season.
