The Colts on Wednesday announced seven team captains for the 2022 season: Defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, linebacker Zaire Franklin, linebacker Shaquille Leonard, left guard Quenton Nelson, cornerback Kenny Moore II, quarterback Matt Ryan and running back Jonathan Taylor.
All seven players are widely respected for their impact on and off the field, and were voted captains by their teammates. Here’s a little about each captain:
Years as captain: 4 (2018-2019 w/49ers, 2021-2022 w/Colts)
Buckner has been a consistent presence in the Colts’ “Breakfast Club” – a group of players that arrives at the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center early in the morning to lift – and is looked to by a young defensive line for leadership. Buckner also bought his defensive line teammates motorized scooters last year to help get around training camp – which he, Grover Stewart and Tyquan Lewis used every day at Grand Park this summer.
“I think (leadership) comes naturally,” Buckner said. “You can’t force anything that you’re not and just because I know the type of role I’m supposed to have, you don’t go out of your way, you gotta do this, you gotta do that. I’m just an open book. It doesn’t matter who you are, if you’ve been on the team, if you’re new to the team, if we just picked you up this week, I’m going to always be there to be an open book.”
Years as captain: 3 (2020-2022 w/Colts)
Franklin grew from a seventh-round pick into a core special teams player, a key defensive contributor and one of the most respected voices in the Colts’ locker room over the last five seasons. It’s a role he’s embraced, and he deeply appreciates the opportunity to be one of the guys his teammates look to on and off the field.
“I hold myself to such a high standard of accountability, and I don’t think I ever ask or demand something from somebody that I wouldn’t demand from myself, that they don’t see me do or hold myself to every day,” Franklin said. “And I think of leadership as being a servant. Once…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at News…