Colts' Darius Leonard Placed on COVID-19/Reserve List, Ruled out for Cardinals Game

The Indianapolis Colts will be without one of their most important players for Saturday's game against the Arizona Cardinals.

The Colts announced that star linebacker Darius Leonard has been placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list along with wide receiver Zach Pascal and safety Khari Willis.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported Leonard is unvaccinated against COVID-19 and will now be unavailable for at least 10 days, ruling him out for next week's game against the Las Vegas Raiders as well.

Leonard, Pascal and Willis join starting offensive linemen Quenton Nelson and Mark Glowinski on the COVID-19 list. Their absence comes at an inopportune time for Indianapolis, as the Colts are pushing for a playoff spot in the AFC.

Leonard was selected to his third straight Pro Bowl this week. He's in the conversation for Defensive Player of the Year this season too after recording 107 tackles, three interceptions, six forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries in 14 games.

In addition to having a Defensive Player of the Year candidate, the Colts have an MVP frontrunner in Jonathan Taylor. The second-year running back leads the NFL with 1,518 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns.

The Colts are 8-6 and have won five of their last six games entering Saturday. Indianapolis is coming off a 27-17 win over the New England Patriots a week ago in which Leonard had 10 tackles, an interception and a forced fumble.

After an 8-1 start to the season, the Cardinals have lost three of their last five games. Arizona suffered a demoralizing 30-12 loss to the Detroit Lions last week. It was just the second win of the season for Detroit.