AFC South Notes: Colts, Dupree, Texans

Shaquille Leonard undergoing back surgery midway through the offseason seemed to put his early-season availability in question. Although the Colts‘ mid-June expectation was for Leonard to be back near the start of training camp, he remains on the team’s active/PUP list. Leonard should be expected to come off that list soon, as not doing so would mean four missed games, but Frank Reich does not expect his top linebacker to be 100% when he returns.

“I think when he gets cleared, he’s not going to be 100% and he’s going to have to work his way back into it,” Reich said, via ESPN.com’s Stephen Holder (on Twitter). “… He’s going to have to figure out how to play feeling the way he feels — not feeling 100%, feeling like maybe this isn’t all the way back but I still gotta figure out how to play winning football.”

The nerve issue for which Leonard underwent surgery affected him in 2021, leading to calf and ankle problems. Leonard still earned his third first-team All-Pro honor — during a season in which he intercepted four passes and led the NFL with eight forced fumbles — but the prospect of another season being impacted by the injury is somewhat concerning for the fifth-year star.

Here is the latest from the AFC South:

• Bud Dupree pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge in connection with a January incident at a Walgreens, TMZ reports. The Titans outside linebacker turned himself in on a assault-fear of bodily injury charge in February. Police said Dupree grabbed a 20-year-old Walgreens employee, attempted to take his phone and fled the scene. The employee allegedly heckled Dupree and threatened to spit on the women accompanying the veteran pass rusher, according to TMZ. Dupree, who is set for his second Titans season, faces a potential suspension under the NFL’s personal conduct policy.
• Dennis Kelly joined Leonard in undergoing a summer surgery. The veteran Colts tackle recently had a procedure done on one of his knees, Mike Chappell of CBS4 tweets. Kelly is competing for a swing job in Indianapolis, which is making another transition at left tackle. Matt Pryor and third-round rookie Bernhard Raimann are vying to be the team’s blindside starter. Kelly, who signed a one-year deal worth $1.27MM, has made 51 career starts. The 11th-year vet’s $75K guarantee obviously does not guarantee him a roster spot, and this surgery keeping him out of action for a stretch will not help his cause.
• The Texans added Jarrod James to their coaching staff as an offensive assistant, Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com tweets. James interned with the Chiefs, Vikings and Ravens in the late 2010s and had been working as Michigan State’s assistant offensive line coach this year.