Colts All-Pro linebacker Shaquille Leonard met with the media Thursday prior to practice. What you need to know:
- Leonard said he's "feeling better" than where he was last week, when he was a full participant in practice but was ruled out of the Colts' game against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Friday. Leonard added he's felt more explosive this week, and a decision on his status for Sunday's game against the Kansas City Chiefs will come later. "Just continue to stack the days up, wait for that moment to come and just make a decision from there," Leonard said.
- Leonard was a full participant in both Wednesday and Thursday's practices at the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center.
- Leonard traveled with the Colts to both Houston and Jacksonville, and said while it "sucks" to not be on the field with his teammates, he's been trying to do everything he can from the sideline to help the defense.
- "The same way I normally do, with energy," Leonard said. "Or tell them exactly what I'm seeing on the field and try to get them in a better position to make that play or try to give them a tendency that I see the offense doing. The fire can burn different ways. People can think about it in different ways and people can go about it and try to find a way to get the job done. That's what everything comes down to – doing your job better, getting off the field, whatever the case may be. But that fire for me, the fire is always burning. Since 1995 that fire has been burning in my heart, so it's still there."
- Leonard's alma mater, South Carolina State, will have its marching band perform at halftime of Sunday's Colts-Chiefs game at Lucas Oil Stadium. "It's always good to get HBCU band here and try to turn it up a little bit, bring that excitement back to the game and excitement for fans besides football and give them an experience they wouldn't have ever had without an HBCU band coming here," Leonard said. "... If you want a show, of course you want to stay in your seats for an HBCU band."
We also heard from wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr., who missed Week 2 with a quad injury.
- Pittman was listed as limited in both Wednesday and Thursday's practices. He said he "felt good" in Wednesday's practice.
- As for a decision on whether or not he'll play Sunday, Pittman said: "We're going to leave that up to coach and kind of play it out, just see how things go during this week."
Thursday's practice report:
