Were Colts waiting for 49ers, Fred Warner to set LB market?
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All offseason, the Indianapolis Colts have been working with the agent of All-Pro linebacker Darius Leonard on a contract extension to make him one of the highest-paid linebackers in the league.
With Leonard and San Francisco 49ers linebacker Fred Warner both up for new deals, there was a theme throughout the offseason as to which domino would fall first. Most would assume the first deal that gets done would set the new market at linebacker, thus saving money on the contracts to follow for other players.
The 49ers beat the Colts to the punch with their new deal for Warner, but it seems that may have been the plan all along for Chris Ballard and the front office.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network suggested that the Colts and Leonard’s agent have been waiting for Warner’s deal to get done so they can make Leonard the highest-paid linebacker in the league.
“Another big-time inside linebacker up for a new deal and know, the Colts and Leonard’s agent Malki Kawa have been in negotiations for the last several months. Leonard expected to come in above Fred Warner and become the new highest-paid linebacker in the NFL,” said Rapoport on NFL Now on Wednesday. “It was just a matter of getting [Warner’s] deal done and setting the benchmark so I would expect Darius Leonard at some point in the near future to get paid as well.”
From NFL Now: The #49ers paid LB Fred Warner, which means #Colts LB Darius Leonard is next to get big bucks. pic.twitter.com/8jHqpy5DT3
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 21, 2021
So while many were hoping the Colts would get Leonard’s deal done before the 49ers and Warner—simply so they wouldn’t have to pay more after the market has been set—it appears the plan all along was to wait so the Colts could make Leonard the highest-paid player at the position.
There is probably a benchmark the Colts weren’t going to go over as they do with every player, but it’s clear Indy wants Leonard leading the defense for the future. And they are willing to pay a premium in order to do that.
It will be interesting to see what the numbers come in at for Leonard, but it appears the team was simply waiting for Warner to set the market so that they could give The Maniac a bigger deal.
