Shaquilles Leonard, a free agent linebacker, is allegedly planning to “assess” his options following his visit with the Dallas Cowboys and his interest from the Philadelphia Eagles.
After being cut by the Indianapolis Colts, Leonard reportedly wants to shop around and find the best deal and circumstances for himself, according to ESPN’s Dan Graziano. The two clubs most often associated with the four-time All-Pro are the Eagles and the Cowboys.
Leonard visited the Cowboys on Tuesday, and Jerry Jones, the team’s owner, stated that the team was not need to see a movie about him in order to show interest.
“It’s not real hard to look and see what a player he’s been,” Jones said on Shan & RJ on Audacy’s 105.3 The Fan. “He’s been outstanding during his career. We’ll want to check his health, see where he is currently.”
Despite becoming an All-Pro in each of his first four seasons, Leonard has had difficulty healing from a back issue that required surgery in the offseason following the 2021 campaign. He was obviously weakened before losing playing time with the Colts in 2023, as he was only able to participate in three games in the previous season before being placed on injured reserve.
Before being released, Leonard made nine appearances and had a grade of 60.3 from PFF.
In an effort to replace Leighton Vander Esch, who will miss the rest of the season due to a neck injury, Dallas is now searching. Philadelphia’s already thin linebacking group will be further limited by the hamstring issue that Eagles linebacker Zach Cunningham is now battling with.
It’s difficult to imagine any situation in which Leonard will find better choices given that the Cowboys and Eagles are both Super Bowl hopefuls and have pressing needs at linebacker. The Cowboys, with their $10.9 million in available space, are financially ahead of the Eagles, who only have $2 million.