The Colts’ plans to have linebacker Shaquille Leonard anchor the middle of their defense for the long haul took a sour turn when Leonard proved unable to return to form following offseason back surgery in 2022. Indianapolis ultimately waived Leonard last November, and one of the reasons the team felt comfortable in making that move was the presence of fellow ‘backer E.J. Speed.
Speed, 29, was selected by the Colts in the fifth round of the 2019 draft, and he operated primarily as a special-teamer over the first three years of his career. As a result of Leonard’s health issues, Speed began to see more defensive snaps in 2022, and his performance that season was enough to earn him a two-year, $8MM contract to stay in Indy.
In 2023, Speed started a career-high 11 games and appeared in two-thirds of the Colts’ defensive snaps. HIs 65.0 overall grade from Pro Football Focus was solid, if unspectacular, though he scored very highly in terms of run defense and posted 102 total tackles. Through the first three games of 2024, he has become a true every-down linebacker, enjoying a 99% snap share and recording 34 total stops.
PFF is still not enamored with his work, as the site presently considers him the 46th-best LB out of 75 qualifiers in 2024. The usual small sample size caveats apply here, but the Colts’ defense as a whole has underperformed, ranking 31st in terms of total defense (though they have yielded fewer points than the raw yardage would suggest and are currently 14th in points allowed per game).
Between the early struggles of second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson and the porousness of the defense, Indianapolis has gotten off to a 1-2 start. And, as Speed is a veteran on an expiring contract, ESPN’s Dan Graziano believes the Tarleton State product is a “name to watch” at the trade deadline if the Colts fall out of contention (subscription required).
Any number of teams would be happy to plug a tackle machine into the second level of their defense at the deadline, even if Speed is far from the complete defender that Leonard was in his prime. Graziano specifically names the Bills, Patriots, and Raiders as possible landing spots, although New England and Las Vegas appear as if they might be deadline sellers as opposed to buyers as of the time of this writing.
As Mike Chappell of Fox 59 observes, Speed has posted at least 10 tackles in seven straight games, dating back to last year. That is the longest such streak for a Colts player since at least 1987, and the second-longest streak for any NFL player since that same year.
Does anyone have the need for Speed?
I dunno. Denver.
Nice, Maverick/Goose!!
Perfect placement for that Maverick/Goose quote!!
Respectfully, why do analysts think the Bills are a possible landing spot?
Bernard is coming back in the next few weeks.
Milano is expected back in December.
In the meantime Dorian Williams and Baylon Spector are playing really well. Like, really well. Big test this week against Lamar and Henry.
There is also a veteran available in Nicholas Morrow.
Hometown guy Andreeson might not be ready for live snaps that matter, but still.
McD likes guys who know the scheme. Giving up anything of value for Speed when the LB corp is pretty solid makes no sense.
I even like Speed – I think he is underrated. But no, I highly doubt the Bills are a realistic landing spot.
More likely its a pass rusher or WR.
Do the smallest bit of homework analysts, please.
Milano is not “expected” back in December. The bills are hopeful that might happen, but it’s not anywhere near expected. He suffered a VERY serious injury.
Yes, he is expected. Its why he was placed on IR with a return designation.
Yes, they hope he returns. They are not counting on him. You’re a bills fan. You should know the status of your players.
Yeah, you are probably right.
They probably wasted a return designation without checking with any doctors.
Good call.
I know this better than you, FYI:
I seriously doubt it. I’ve seen every single Bills game since 1974. Every. Single. One.
You sure seem clueless about the return designation….
But ok.
Im happy to explain it to you if you need it.
Yes, it’s very complicated. A team places a guy on IR and hopes he might come back later so they designate him as such. After 4 weeks he can return. It’s very complicated. Lmao.
I still don’t think you get it somehow, maybe you just don’t want to.
They only get 8 return designations. Its a limited resource for returns.
Im also not sure what value you bring to this discussion – seems like you just want to argue.
Over nothing?
Idk man. Have a good life.
8 is a ton. There are plenty to “waste.” It’s not too terribly meaningful to use it. It means maybe, not definitely. Possibly, not probably.
Based on that theory you should be the Bills GM
Do you understand what happened to him? He tore his biceps. Tore. The muscle needs to mend and while it does atrophy will set in. He will be healed by December but he will not be ready to play. He will then need to get into game shape. If they’re lucky, he will be there for the playoffs. He will then have not played in a game in a year and a half. He will take time to round into shape. His leg wasn’t even a 100% when the arm injury occurred.
If all goes well and there are no set backs, maybe he gets on the field for VERY limited snaps in January. The bills are planning on playing this season without him.
Weird fight to pick, and Im not sure what your endgame is…but okay.
But I promise you, I know this team better than you do. Save your condescending bs.
His leg injury is a completely different injury and they did use one of 8 return designations on him. They did not have to.
Do you believe they did without checking with a medical professional?
For what its worth – take it from a guy who follows the Bills constantly – word out if training camp was Milano was looking like himself before the injury.
But please, lecture me more so you can feel smug.
Man – never trust discussion board doctors – am I right?
After the way the Bills run defense was gutted last night, and with how it has struggled so far this year, they are probably a top candidate to look for help. It’s a long time till December, even if Milano can come back then. More likely, they are hoping he’ll be available for the playoffs…but they have to get there. They’re off to a good start, but after what Baltimore did to them yesterday, everyone is going to try and shove the run down their throat. We’ll see how they adjust, but Speed could be a good answer, if for some reason the Colts traded him.
Im not sure Speed fixes a game against Baltimore. They can do that to most teams.
The run D had communication issues (Spector said so last night).
The Ravens were just better everywhere. Out coached for sure. The entire defense was bad.
Im not overly concerned with the D – but nobody was open for Allen. Thats my bigger concern.
Speed is on an expiring contract also – who are they dropping for him?
The Bills were exposed for being too small on D. They were pushed around at will. You can’t play permanently in nickel which is what they have done now for a few years. The lb’s are the size of safeties. Since Edmunds left they have been confusing teams with smoke and mirrors. A bigger and tougher team is going to manhandle them. And Milano will NOT solve that on one and a half legs and only one strong arm. Don’t be a homer. This is a huge problem.
lol. You do not know this team better than I do.
The fact that you’re resting all of your hopes on a guy who hasn’t played in a year and a half, coming off of two devastating injuries, and thinking he’s going to be an all pro is laughable. Look how well it worked for von miller last year…. You don’t know your team if you think he’s going to be anything this year. Sorry son.
PFF does not seem to do a particularly sound job grading linebackers. Tremaine Edmunds, for example, has gotten incredibly low grades from them for much of his career, but the Bills instantly missed him in run defense and tight end coverage, last year, and he has conversely been a noticeable boost for the Bears defense.