Thought on Andrew Luck's Retirement

At a young age of 29, Andrew Luck, one of the most talented quarterbacks the NFL has ever seen decided to retire. When news broke of his retirement, I was shocked but only for a couple of minutes. I decided to watch his last press conference and he said something that was eye opening.

“This is not an easy decision. Honestly, it's the hardest decision of my life. But it is the right decision for me. For the last four years or so, I've been in this cycle of injury, pain, rehab, injury, pain, rehab, and it's been unceasing, unrelenting, both in-season and offseason, and I felt stuck in it. The only way I see out is to no longer play football”

So why wasn’t this retirement a surprising as Calvin Johnson or Barry Sanders? Andrew Luck’s injury history shows us why. In 2015 he missed 7 games for an abdomen injury, 1 game in 2016 for a concussion, and 16 games in 2017 for a shoulder injury. His injury history has kept him out for 24 games and it would’ve kept him out of multiple games this season. In April a report said that he had a calf injury but as time progressed, it turned into an ankle injury and the outside world started to question what the injury really was. However, we now see it was more than just a calf injury and Andrew Luck decided that he didi’t want to go through the same process he’s been going through the last 4 years.

Since entering the league in 2012, he has been sacked 174 times and has taken numerous hits from not protecting himself while running. Although I do believe Andrew should’ve have been more careful of his body, I blame the Colts front office for not putting pieces to protect him early on in his career. Although last year the Colts offensive line was the best in terms of protection, the damage had already been done.

"I've been stuck in this process. I haven't been able to live the life I want to live. Taken the joy out of the game, and after 2016, when I played in pain and was unable to regularly practice, I made a vow to myself that I would not go down that path again.”

In all honesty I feel bad that Luck has to cut his career short. Injuries have taken the joy out of the game for him and it is sad to see a generational talent give up his dream because of his body. He has been a great talent since he was at Stanford and when healthy, he is undeniably one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. From what other players say and from the Andrew Luck we watch, he has been one of the best competitors, teammates, and payers in the NFL and I wish him nothing but the best.

Although he retired, don’t be suprised if he comes back in 2 years after recovering fully and having time for himself.