Indianapolis, IN
This Indianapolis Colts Linebacker Will Need to Step Up in 2024
Last season, the Indianapolis Colts waived three-time Pro Bowl and Defensive Rookie of the Year linebacker Shaquille Leonard. Within a couple of weeks, he was signed to a one-year deal by the Philadelphia Eagles. The Colts released Leonard due to his decline in health and subsequent decline in production. Therefore, upon his release, Indy relied on fifth-year linebacker E.J. Speed to step up in Leonard’s absence.
The 2023 season was Speed’s first season, starting the majority of games. With the leadership and dominance of Zaire Franklin, the two combined for 185 solo tackles. Heading into the 2024 season, the Colts will look to these two linebackers to continue to produce and dominate opposing offenses. Franklin has shown that he can produce consistently each season. Speed will need to prove to the Indianapolis Colts that he can be the dominant linebacker that they need him to be.
E.J. Speed Will Need to Step Up in 2024
His Career Thus Far
E.J. Speed was drafted in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft out of Tarleton State University. After having minimal playing time in his first two seasons, Speed started his first NFL game in a road victory against the Arizona Cardinals. In that 2021 contest, he accumulated eight solo tackles and displayed athleticism and potential to be a starter in this league.
Entering the 2022 season as a backup, Speed was given more opportunities to start due to Shaquille Leonard sustaining injuries. In 2022, Speed started five games and appeared in all 17 games. He accumulated 37 solo tackles, seven tackles for loss, one quarterback hit, and recorded his first sack. While the injury to Leonard was unfortunate, the Indianapolis Colts were fortunate to have comparable depth at linebacker.
As injuries piled up for Leonard, Speed was given more opportunities to start games. In 2023, he took over as a starting linebacker for the Indianapolis Colts. He started 11 games and subsequently recorded career highs in every major category by mounting over 100 total tackles, 78 solo tackles, 12 tackles for loss, and 24 assists. Although Speed’s numbers are unquestionable, the 2024 season will be his first season entering as a primary starter. Therefore, there is some added pressure to perform and keep the momentum that he started last season.
Looking Ahead as a Primary Starter
E.J. Speed will enter the 2024 season as a primary starting linebacker alongside Zaire Franklin. After these two accumulated monster numbers in 2023, the hope is that both will continue to dominate in 2024. The Colts defense got better with player extensions and draft picks. However, the middle of the defense remains relatively the same. The primary starters in that unit are still Franklin and Speed, but there is room for some depth pieces to make a splash. Fourth-year linebacker Grant Stuard will look to move into a starting position. Rookie linebacker Jaylon Carlies will also look to compete for a starting position.
Regardless, E.J. Speed’s position as a primary starter is his to keep. He has proven that he can produce and dominate for this team. Speed also has room for development and growth. Keep in mind that he is going into his first season as a primary starter and only has 17 total starts in his career over five seasons. If the Indianapolis Colts want to keep this linebacker unit in a place of dominance, E.J. Speed will need to step up and keep the momentum from last season.
Main Image: Grace Hollars – USA Today Sports
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — This Memorial Day, you can honor United States service members who made the ultimate sacrifice. Crown Hill National Cemetery is hosting a service at 11 a.m. on Monday.
In a Facebook post, the Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs said, “Never forgotten. Always remembered,” encouraging people to attend the ceremony. Crown Hill is the final resting place for nearly 1,000 veterans and eligible dependents.
According to Crown Hill, the keynote speaker will be Michael Hershman, the director of Veteran Health Indiana. Music will be provided by the 38th Infantry Division Band, Indiana National Guard, and the Indiana National Guard Ceremonial Unit will provide military honors.
The service will be in the open area adjacent to the Crown Hill Columbarium Annex.
Parking Information
Guests displaying a valid disability license plate or placard may enter the cemetery’s main gate for on-site parking.
General parking will be available at Butler University Lot 45 (near the intersection of West 42nd Street and Haughey Avenue), with shuttle service provided to and from the grounds of Crown Hill National Cemetery.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A man and a woman died Sunday night when their motorcycle collided with a small SUV, police say.
The names and ages of the two who died were not immediately available, an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Capt. Don Weilhammer said from the crash scene.
IMPD was called to the collision just after 9:20 p.m. Sunday in the 7500 block of North Keystone Avenue. That’s just south of the White River bridge.
Investigators think the SUV was southbound and had a green light as it turned east toward 75th Street. That’s when the northbound motorcycle hit the SUV near its rear passenger door.
A witness at a nearby Walmart told IMPD that the motorcycle had passed the shopping area, which is south of the intersection, at a high rate of speed.
The driver and passenger of the motorcycle died at the crash scene.
A man and a woman were in the SUV. The man in the SUV received minor injuries, and the woman was unhurt. They remained at the scene. The IMPD captain said no one in the SUV was intoxicated. Their names were not immediately shared publicly.
No one witnessed the crash, the captain said. IMPD’s Kevin Winks was seeking anyone with information or video footage to contact the officer at 317-327-6549.
INDIANAPOLIS — The man helping lead one of Indianapolis’ biggest race weekend traditions still had to pay 10 bucks to park.
As downtown filled Saturday morning for the 70th annual Lucas Oil 500 Festival Parade ahead of the 110th running of the Indianapolis 500, Pascal Siakam pulled up to a parking lot expecting a little Grand Marshal treatment.
Instead, the four-time NBA All-Star found himself in a friendly standoff with a vendor charging $10 for parking.
In a video posted to his social media accounts, the Pacers forward laughed as he rolled into the lot.
“I ain’t trying to pay for real,” Siakam joked from the car. “I ain’t even got 10 bucks.”
When Siakam rolled down his window to face the vendor he asked half-jokingly, “The Grand Marshal don’t get to park for free?”
The woman wasn’t buying it.
“You’re not the Grand Marshal,” she told him. “Caitlin Clark is.”
Siakam, alongside teammate Andrew Nembhard, served as co-Grand Marshal for this year’s parade. Clark, of course, was named Grand Marshal for Sunday’s race festivities — not the parade itself.
Even after Siakam explained the mix-up, the vendor still wasn’t convinced. The video shows her eventually looking it up herself before realizing the 6-foot-8 Pacers star was telling the truth the entire time.
Still, no special treatment
After all the back-and-forth, Siakam paid the $10 anyway.
The exchange quickly became a humorously relatable race weekend moment — even basketball royalty isn’t safe from negotiating for parking in downtown Indianapolis.
Saturday’s parade wound through downtown as one of the city’s signature traditions leading into race day, featuring marching bands, floats, giant balloons, celebrities and all 33 IndyCar drivers competing in Sunday’s Indy 500.
Jessica Garcete is an IndyStar sports reporter. Get IndyStar’s motor sports coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Motor Sports newsletter. Subscribe to theYouTube channel IndyStar TV: IndyCar for a behind-the-scenes look at IndyCar and expert analysis.
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