Rick Leonard (born November 22, 1996) is an American football offensive tackle who is a free agent. He played college football at Florida State, where he started out as a defensive end before moving to offensive tackle. He was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL Draft and has since been a member of several other teams.

Rick Leonard
refer to caption
Leonard with the Falcons in 2022
Personal information
Born: (1996-11-22) November 22, 1996 (age 27)
Middletown, Maryland, U.S.
Height:6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Weight:311 lb (141 kg)
Career information
High school:Middletown
College:Florida State
Position:Offensive tackle
NFL draft:2018 / Round: 4 / Pick: 127
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career NFL statistics
Games played:2
Player stats at NFL.com

College career edit

A four-star recruit, Leonard committed to Florida State in 2014 as a defensive end, over offers from Arizona, Clemson, Maryland, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, Washington, and Wisconsin, among others.[1] In his freshman season, he played in four games as a reserve. Leonard compiled five tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss as a sophomore and played in all 13 games. After two seasons on defense, he transitioned to the offensive line before the 2016 season.[2][3] He started the first three games at right tackle in 2016, before being replaced. Leonard regained his starting role for the final three games of the season. In 2017, Leonard started all 13 games at left tackle for the Seminoles.[4]

Professional career edit

New Orleans Saints edit

Leonard was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the fourth round, 127th overall, of the 2018 NFL Draft.[5] On May 10, 2018, Leonard signed his rookie contract with the Saints.[6] He was waived on September 1, 2018 and was signed to the practice squad the next day.[7][8] He was released on October 2, 2018.[9]

Los Angeles Rams edit

On October 9, 2018, Leonard was signed to the Los Angeles Rams' practice squad.[10] He was released on November 6, 2018.[11]

Arizona Cardinals (first stint) edit

On November 14, 2018, Leonard was signed to the Arizona Cardinals practice squad.[12]

Houston Texans edit

On January 9, 2019, Leonard signed a reserve/future contract with the Houston Texans.[13] The Texans waived him on August 31 during final roster cuts.[14] On September 1, 2019, Leonard was signed to the Houston Texans practice squad.[15] He signed a reserve/future contract with the Texans on January 13, 2020.[16]

On September 5, 2020, Leonard was waived by the Texans.[17]

Arizona Cardinals (second stint) edit

On September 22, 2020, Leonard was signed to the Cardinals practice squad.[18] He was released on October 1, 2020, and later re-signed to the practice squad on October 20.[19][20] Leonard was released on November 24, 2020.[21]

Washington Football Team edit

Leonard signed with the Washington Football Team's practice squad on December 1, 2020.[22] On January 11, 2021, Leonard signed a reserve/futures contract with Washington.[23] He was waived/injured on August 24, 2021, and reverted to injured reserve before being waived with an injury settlement on September 2.[24]

Atlanta Falcons (first stint) edit

On November 18, 2021, Leonard was signed to the Atlanta Falcons practice squad.[25] He was released on December 7.[26]

Minnesota Vikings edit

On December 28, 2021, Leonard was signed to the Minnesota Vikings practice squad.[27]

Atlanta Falcons (second stint) edit

On December 31, 2021, Leonard was signed by the Atlanta Falcons off the Vikings practice squad.[28] his first career game against the Buffalo Bills on January 2, 2022. He was waived on August 26.[29][30]

References edit

  1. ^ "Rick Leonard, 2014 Strongside Defensive End - Rivals.com". N.rivals.com. Retrieved August 31, 2022.
  2. ^ Weller, Curt (February 28, 2018). "NFL Combine Preview: Florida State OL Rick Leonard". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  3. ^ Erickson, Joel (April 28, 2018). "Saints pick OT Rick Leonard: FSU standout made defense to offense switch in two seasons". The New Orleans Advocate. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  4. ^ Weller, Curt (April 18, 2018). "Florida State offensive lineman Rick Leonard drafted by the Saints". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  5. ^ Katzenstein, Josh (April 28, 2018). "Saints pick Florida State offensive tackle Rick Leonard in 4th round". NOLA.com.
  6. ^ "New Orleans Saints sign six draft picks". NewOrleansSaints.com. May 10, 2018. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  7. ^ "New Orleans Saints make roster reductions to 53". NewOrleansSaints.com. September 1, 2018.
  8. ^ "New Orleans Saints announce roster moves". NewOrleansSaints.com. September 2, 2018.
  9. ^ Katzenstein, Josh (October 2, 2018). "Saints cut Brandon Tate, add four players to practice squad". NOLA.com.
  10. ^ "Rams sign 2018 4th-round pick Rick Leonard to practice squad". The Rams Wire. USA Today. October 9, 2018.
  11. ^ "Los Angeles Rams release OT Rick Leonard, DE Ja'Von Rolland-Jones from practice squad". TurfShowTimes.com. November 6, 2018.
  12. ^ Urban, Darren (November 14, 2018). "Adding A Pair Of Corners: Cardinals Sign David Amerson, Leonard Johnson". AZCardinals.com.
  13. ^ "Texans sign OT Rick Leonard". Chron.com. January 9, 2019.
  14. ^ "Texans trim roster to 53 players". HoustonTexans.com. August 31, 2019. Archived from the original on September 1, 2019. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
  15. ^ "Texans sign CB Armstrong, TE Paulsen, add 10 players to practice squad". HoustonTexans.com. September 2, 2019. Archived from the original on September 3, 2019. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  16. ^ "Texans sign 10 players to reserve/future contracts". HoustonTexans.com. January 13, 2020.
  17. ^ "Transactions: Roster Moves (9-5-2020)". HoustonTexans.com. September 5, 2020.
  18. ^ "Arizona Cardinals re-sign Rick Leonard to practice squad". Revenge of the Birds. SB Nation. September 22, 2020.
  19. ^ Urban, Darren (October 1, 2020). "Cardinals Sign Veteran Safety T.J. Ward To Practice Squad". AZCardinals.com. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  20. ^ Urban, Darren (October 20, 2020). "Cardinals Activate D.J. Foster To Practice Squad". AZCardinals.com. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  21. ^ Odegard, Kyle (November 24, 2020). "Kyler Murray Calls Limited Practice 'Precautionary' Move". AZCardinals.com. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  22. ^ Camenker, Jacob (December 2020). "Timon Parris, Rick Leonard sign with Washington Football Team's practice squad". Riggos Rag. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  23. ^ "Washington Signs 13 Players To Reserve/Future Contracts". WashingtonFootball.com. January 11, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  24. ^ Manning, Bryan (August 24, 2021). "Washington releases 4 players on Tuesday". Washington Football Wire. USA Today. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
  25. ^ "Falcons roster moves: Hayden Hurst to injured reserve, analyzing other gameday moves". AtlantaFalcons.com. November 18, 2021.
  26. ^ "Falcons add CB Cornell Armstrong, announce practice squad moves". The Falcoholic. SB Nation. December 7, 2021.
  27. ^ Peters, Craig (December 28, 2021). "Vikings Sign T Rick Leonard to Practice Squad". Vikings.com. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  28. ^ "Falcons activate defensive lineman off reserve/COVID-19 list, sign offensive lineman". AtlantaFalcons.com. December 31, 2021.
  29. ^ Smith, Joshua R. (January 5, 2022). "'Definitely awesome': Crazy week culminates in Middletown grad Leonard's first game-day NFL action". Frederick News-Post. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  30. ^ "Falcons bring back undrafted tight end, release offensive lineman". AtlantaFalcons.com. August 26, 2022.

External links edit