Andrew Luck Won't Practice Ahead of 3rd Preseason Game Because of Ankle Injury

Indianapolis Colts head coach Frank Reich told reporters Tuesday that quarterback Andrew Luck won't practice ahead of the team's third preseason game against the Chicago Bears at Lucas Oil Stadium, per Zak Keefer of The Athletic:

Luck has been dealing with an ankle injury that threatens to cost him time during the regular season.

Reich noted Monday that pain management was one of the issues keeping Luck off the field:

General manager Chris Ballard also offered an update last week, per Akeem Glaspie of the Indianapolis Star:

"So, what the issue right now is the side to side stuff—kind of rolling of the ankle. Anything front, back and forth, he's good. Standing there throwing, he's good. It's the moving in the pocket, those are the kind of things that we've got to get him better at. Look, if you know Andrew, I mean, y'all aren’t in the building, but this guy works, now, he freaking works."

Luck's ankle injury remains a major concern for a Colts team with Super Bowl aspirations. The 29-year-old quarterback was excellent in 2018, throwing for 4,593 yards, 39 touchdowns and 15 interceptions while completing 67.3 percent of his passes. The Colts went 10-6 and reached the postseason, beating the Houston Texans in the Wild Card Round before bowing out to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.

Injuries have become a major storyline in Luck's career. He missed nine games in 2015 with both a partial tear of an abdominal muscle and a lacerated kidney, and he missed the entirety of the 2017 campaign with a shoulder injury.

Now, it's appearing more and more likely that Jacoby Brissett will open as the starter when Indianapolis faces the Los Angeles Chargers on Sept. 8 in Week 1. He may be one of the better backup quarterbacks in the league, but he's still a significant downgrade from Luck, who at his best is a viable MVP candidate.