Zaire Franklin Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

The Colts on Sunday added LB Zaire Franklin to the injury report as questionable for Monday night's game against the Steelers because of illness. We'll check his status when the inactives come out. If Franklin sits, E.J. Speed should be the next LB up to join Bobby Okereke. Indianapolis also downgraded EDGE Kwity Paye (ankle) to out for the game. The team is reportedly optimistic about having DT DeForest Buckner (ribs, illness) and EDGE Yannick Ngakoue (back) available. Both are officially questionable.

Colts LB Shaquille Leonard had back surgery Tuesday and will miss the rest of the season. The operation was reportedly successful, so he should have time to get ready for 2023. In the meantime, Zaire Franklin and Bobby Okereke should be locked in as Indy's full-time LBs the rest of this season.

Colts LB Shaquille Leonard will play Sunday against the Commanders, though he's not yet going full time. "He’s ahead of schedule, but not quite there yet so he will be on a pitch count," HC Frank Reich told the Indianapolis Star. "We feel he is the best defensive player in the league. Our goal is to get him out there for 100 percent of the snaps as soon as we can, but we’re just not quite there yet." Leonard is coming off surgery for a broken nose, as well as a concussion. That followed a slow start to the year coming off June back surgery. It's tough to know just how many snaps Leonard will play, but we've boosted Zaire Franklin to full playing time and moved him way up the Week 8 IDP rankings. He played 100% in the 1 game that has included Leonard so far this year (Week 4).

Colts LB Shaquille Leonard practiced in full Wednesday and was listed only for the back issue, which was the June surgery whose recovery kept him out to open the season. It's good news that the team isn't listing his broken nose that required more recent surgery. Leonard's inactivity in the wake of that kept HC Frank Reich from playing him in last week's loss at Tennessee, despite full practices leading up to the weekend. Leonard seems to be on track to return for this Sunday's game against Washington. That would likely take playing time away from IDP revelation Zaire Franklin. We'll watch for word on whether Leonard will immediately assume a full-time role.

Colts LB Shaquille Leonard suffered a broken nose in addition to his concussion in Sunday's loss to the Titans. HC Frank Reich said Tuesday that issue might keep Leonard out beyond his concussion recovery but that the team won't know until "significant swelling subsides," according to ESPN's Stephen Holder. We'll see about that return timeline. In the meantime, LB Zaire Franklin continues as a full-timer next to Bobby Okereke.

Colts LB Shaquille Leonard left his 1st appearance of the season in the 1st half with a concussion. That almost certainly means Leonard will also miss Thursday night's game against the Broncos. We'll see about his progress through the league protocol. LB Zaire Franklin will return to elevated playing time in Leonard's absence.

The Colts have ruled LB Shaquille Leonard out for the 3rd straight game as he continues to work back from June back surgery. Leonard's continued absence leaves E.J. Speed in the lineup and Zaire Franklin joining Bobby Okereke as full-timers at LB.

The Colts have ruled LB Shaquille Leonard out for Sunday’s game against the Jaguars. Leonard — working back from June back surgery — returned to full practice this week, which suggests he’s a strong possibility for Week 3. E.J. Speed stepped into Leonard’s starting role in Week 1, supplying 7 tackles (3 solo) and a sack. But he played just 54% of the snaps, which makes him tough to believe in for Week 2. LB Zaire Franklin joined Bobby Okereke as the full-timers. Expect Okereke to join Leonard in that pairing once the star is all the way back

Colts LB Shaquille Leonard (back) participated fully in practice Wednesday, pointing to a potential return for Sunday's game against the Jaguars. Leonard rejoined the team late in August but wasn't quite ready to play in the opener. If he's ready for Week 2, expect LB Zaire Franklin to lose playing time.