After the Colts’ disastrous loss to the AFC bottom-feeding Jaguars in January, which ended the team’s playoff hopes and season, star linebacker Darius Leonard says it took him nearly two months to get over the stunning loss.
But it wasn’t just football on Leonard’s mind.
There were family health issues that were tugging at him, but his role with the Colts kept him hundreds of miles away from his family. The personal circumstances surrounding Leonard took a toll on the standout linebacker, he told USA Today.
“I ask everybody how they’re doing. Sometimes it’s O.K. to as me how I’m doing. Don’t ask me just to ask me. Ask me to truly have a conversation with me and to understand that I’m a human, too. I have problems. I go through things that a lot of people are going through,” Leonard said.
With personal matters weighing on his mind and his body trying to fight through an ankle injury, Leonard felt like he let the team down during the most important stretch of the season.
“Last year, I wasn’t in the right mental space to hold everybody accountable. I felt like I let the team down in that aspect in the last two games. … In this profession, sometimes you feel like you don’t have a say so in your personal life just because it’s all football, all football. When you feel like you have to hold a shade up on your personal life because of your football life, it eats you up. I fell out of love with the game. I wasn’t enjoying it anymore,” Leonard added.
As Leonard takes some time off and the Colts prepare for the upcoming season, the star linebacker will be searching for his joy in the game once again as he leads the Indianapolis defense for another season.
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