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Andrew Luck Reportedly Thought Career May Be over at Times After Shoulder Injury
August 7, 2018
During his lengthy recovery from shoulder surgery, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck questioned whether he'd make it back on an NFL field.
Luck discussed his internal doubt in an interview with ESPN.com's Mike Wells:
"There were one or two moments where I wondered if I am ever going to be able to do this again. Certainly this [preseason opener at Seattle on Thursday] isn't what I've been working toward the whole time, but sort of in the same vein it is another step in this journey and one that is sort of about the next one right now. That's really exciting and that's fun."
Luck last suited up for the Colts in their 24-20 season-ending defeat to the Jacksonville Jaguars in January 2017. He underwent surgery a few weeks after the loss to address a shoulder injury that dated back to the 2015 season.
Not only was Luck out for the entirety of the 2017 campaign, his lack of progress was a concern for many Colts fans. At one point in November, he traveled to Europe to seek further treatment for his injured shoulder.
Luck started throwing footballs during Indianapolis' June minicamp:
According to Wells, Luck has worked out in nine of the team's 11 practices during training camp and could play as much as a quarter of Thursday's game with Seattle.
It's impossible to understate Luck's importance to the Colts. They averaged almost 10 wins a season in his first five years but fell to 4-12 in 2017 as Jacoby Brissett handled starting duties for all but one game. Between 2012 and 2016, Luck was ninth in both passing yards (19,078) and passing touchdowns (132), according to Pro Football Reference.
His health and performance will be the biggest factor in whether Indianapolis can contend for the playoffs or is instead looking at another losing record.