I'm Worried About Andrew Luck

Sure, maybe you think it’s a little ominous that Andrew Luck had shoulder surgery nine months ago, hasn’t played since, and had to be shut down after briefly attempting to throw a football. But do you know what’s really ominous? His throwing shoulder hurts and the Colts and doctors have no idea why.

Luck is “not close” to returning to practice, according to the :

The soreness, according to a league source, now has the Colts looking for answers. To that end, Luck plans to see multiple shoulder specialists in the coming days to find the source of the soreness, which prompted the Colts to shut Luck down after he finally returned to practice earlier this month.

No, yeah, it’s fine and normal to have to see multiple doctors because those consulted so far either can’t determine or can’t agree on the reason for Luck’s shoulder soreness, which developed after he began throwing and required a cortisone shot.

Remember, this shoulder has been an issue for going on three years now. Luck required regular pregame cortisone shots to dull the pain in 2015, and in 2016 did not practice on Thursdays in an attempt to manage the workload on his shoulder. Finally, in January 2017, he underwent surgery on a partially torn labrum, and he was issued a six-to-nine-month timetable for a return to full action. After five months, when it was June and Luck still hadn’t picked up a football, the that Luck had had “discussions with multiple shoulder specialists.” (Sound familiar?) But the Colts presented a public face of unconcern, with Jim Irsay saying at the time it was “not that complicated of a surgery” and that Luck was “healing tremendously.”

The Colts are saying less about Luck now, though that may just because there’s not much to tell people. Luck is hurt, and he’s unexpectedly hurting for much longer than he was supposed to. (That he hasn’t been placed on IR could be a seen as a hopeful sign, or just as a sign that the team literally has no idea what’s happening with him, and doesn’t particularly need that extra roster spot.) But at 2-6, there’s really no reason to bring Luck back this season. Chuck Pagano claims their record will have no impact on whether he plays this year, but I don’t buy that—they are worried about Luck’s career, not his 2017. And the high draft pick they should earn this year doesn’t hurt either.

In summation, I hope the Colts didn’t kill one of the few good quarterbacks in the NFL, but they probably did.