Leonard Floyd gets triple-teamed every day. And he loves it.
The fourth-year outside linebacker is father of three little ones – Carter, age 5; Aden, 3; and Bryce, the baby – and as trying as this season is or difficult as life in the NFL can be at times, there’s no question which is harder: Playing football or being a Dad?
“Oh, being a Dad,” Floyd said, laughing.
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Floyd attended to the football side of life on Sunday, delivering the kind of performance he and the Bears have wanted and desperately needed. Lost in the aftershocks from the devastating loss to the Philadelphia Eagles were Floyd’s six tackles, one for loss, and a sack, all while playing a career-high 73 snaps.
Those snaps, 82 percent of the Eagles plays from scrimmage, were in line with the volume of work Floyd, who has shaken free of injury issues his first two seasons to start the last 25 straight games, including the playoff, has carried this season (82.7 percent of opponents’ snaps). The Philadelphia game marked his first with a sack since his two in game one vs. Green Bay, but the Bears, who last season picked up the fifth-year option (2020) on Floyd’s rookie contract, have seen more from Floyd than sack numbers.
“Leonard Floyd had done a great job of setting edges, he’s done a great job of affecting the passing game in coverage, he’s done a great job of knocking guys back into the launch point,” said outside-linebackers coach Ted Monachino.
But edges, launch points and coverages aren’t on Floyd’s mind when he walks through the door even after a game like Sunday’s.
NFL
Floyd has committed to giving time off the top to his little ones. They’ve been waiting for him to get home and, frankly, he’s more likely to get some quiet time if he gives them their time first.
“That’s definitely something you’ve gotta do,” Floyd said, smiling. “You don’t want to go in and not acknowledge. You want to spend at least an hour, two hours maybe, playing with toys, letting them see you.
“My perspective has always been that way, since I was young. I had to be the man of the house so my perspective has always been, you just be that way, taking care of your family.”
And in their own way, the family takes care of him.
“They always, no matter how hard a day you’ve had, they always brighten it up,” Floyd said. “They’re always having a good day.”
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