Photo: Ed Yourdon, Flickr BY NICK ST. DENIS
Jim Leonhard expects to be fully recovered from a knee injury by the start of NFL training camp in three months. The free agent, most recently a Jet, hopes he'll have a team he can prove it to.
Leonhard, coming off his second season-ending knee injury in consecutive years, spoke with members of the media Saturday at an autograph signing at a Verizon store in Lake Grove, NY.
"It's hard right now because there's only so much you can talk about when you know you're not 100 percent and everyone else knows you're not 100 percent," Leonhard said of his conversations with various teams this offseason, according to ESPN New York.
The 29-year-old broke his tibia in practice in early December 2010 and tore his patellar tendon in mid-December 2011.
Leonhard said he's had some conversations with the Jets, who recently signed former Redskins safety LaRon Landry, and added that he'd be open to competing for a starting job. New York, which isn't experienced at safety past Landry and Eric Smith, could be waiting to see if it'll land Alabama's Mark Barron in the draft before making any other moves at the position.
Leonhard's late-season absence both in 2010 and 2011 was felt, as he was considered the Jets' defense's quarterback. The defensive backfield fell a bit out of order when he was out of the mix due to poor communication.
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