AFC Notes: Colts, Shaquille Leonard, Jaguars, Titans

Colts

Colts LB Shaquille Leonard admitted that he hasn’t been healthy since 2018.

“In 2018, Week 4 against the Houston Texans, I rolled my ankle and sat out Week 5 against the Patriots. Then I came back against the Jets, and you notice I’ve had it taped up ever since,” Leonard said, via Indy Star. “So it’s been a minute.”

Leonard didn’t want to commit to a timetable for a return.

“When I feel like I’m ready,” Leonard said. “When I’m comfortable.”

Colts GM Chris Ballard was also non-committal when asked about a return date, adding that Leonard needed to get back in football shape before he can return to game action.

“He’s got to get his body ready to play,” Ballard said. “You can’t miss all that time and just go and be game-ready. You’ve got to practice. You’ve got to get some work in. That’s what he’ll do. I can’t give you a timeline. Maybe Week 1, maybe Week 6.“

Leonard is hopeful that the pain-free version of himself can take another step forward and make an even bigger impact on the game.

“If Shaquille can be healthy for a full season and be able to plant and cut his way as I was once before, I just think I’ll be flying around a whole lot better and making a few more plays,” Leonard said. “I’ll be more crisp out of my breaks and will be in (passing) windows more.”

• ESPN’s Field Yates notes Bears TE Trevon Wesco had four teams place waiver claims on him including the Browns, Colts and Bengals. 

Jaguars

Jaguars GM Trent Baalke said the team has been fielding calls since March on WR Laviska Shenault Jr. when the team signed WR Christian Kirk and WR Zay Jones in free agency.

“Well, we’ve been fielding calls since free agency when we signed [WR Zay Jones and WR Christian Kirk], we’ve been fielding calls quite a bit,” Baalke said, via Sports Illustrated. “Things picked up over the past week and it just came down to a situation where we felt it was a good situation for us as an organization and a good situation for Laviska. We certainly enjoyed him as a player in this organization and wish him nothing but the best.”

Jacksonville’s trade for OL Cole Van Lanen immediately boosts the team’s depth at offensive line and Baalke feels he fits into their system seamlessly.

“We liked him—first of all, it starts with the draft process itself. We liked him when he came out of the University of Wisconsin. He played in a zone system. Wisconsin is a zone-based system. Green Bay is a zone-based system, so it was a good fit that way,” Baalke said.

The fact that Van Lanen has already put good film together made it an easy decision for Baalke to part with a late-round draft choice to acquire him.

“He’s highly intelligent, and he puts together a good tape together, and it was a chance for us to upgrade the roster, so we made the decision,” Baalke said. “When you take a seventh-round pick and draft an offensive lineman, the hit rate is about 20 percent. If he’s already proven that he can step out on the field, you’re taking that seventh-round pick a year early, using it, to us, was a good business decision.”

Titans

• Titans worked out WR Kaden Davis and WR Josh Gordon. The team opted to sign Gordon to their practice squad. (Aaron Wilson)