Andrew Luck's Retirement- My Thoughts
For the last 10+ years, the Indianapolis Colts have been one of the few fortunate teams to be stable and secure at the most important position, quarterback. From the late 90’s until around 2010 the Colts were led by future hall of famer Peyton Manning who led the team to multiple Superbowls and an eventual Superbowl victory. Manning eventually went through his fair share of injuries and the Colts made the decision it was time to move on from Manning and go in a younger direction.
Enter the 2012 NFL Draft. The Colts were coming off one of their worst seasons in recent memory which landed them the #1 overall pick in that following season’s draft. The reason why there was a silver lining to that season was that the draft had two potential franchise changing quarterbacks in Baylor’s Robert Griffin III and Stanford’s Andrew Luck. While Griffin III won the Heisman Trophy and was a flashy and more entertaining player, Luck was viewed as the can’t miss prospect of the entire draft and a quarterback who could make any team an instant contender. Once the Colts were given the top pick, the decision was clear; Andrew Luck was going to be an Indianapolis Colt.
From the moment he was drafted, Luck has been one of the most productive quarterbacks in the draft and has led the Colts back to the playoffs on more than one occasion. After a terrific 2018 season where Luck led the Colts to the playoffs and won Comeback Player of the Year, the hype train was at an all time high for the Colts and were viewed as one of the top teams who could compete for a Superbowl this upcoming season. Then, one of the most shocking new stories broke during a Colts preseason game that would change the Colts franchise forever. At the age of 29, Andrew Luck announced his retirement.
Now its been known that Andrew Luck has had a myriad of injuries and has been dealing with them for the last few years, but this season was supposed to be special for the Colts and Luck. They were on the fast track towards another playoff birth and a potential Superbowl run led by their quarterback who was also considered a top target for MVP. Now, the Colts will be led by backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett in hopes that he can keep the ship afloat but the problem is that Brissett is not Luck. Is he a potential starter worthy quarterback, sure. Is he a game changing quarterback who can lead a team to the promised land, probably not. Either way, the Colts have no choice but to put their belief in Brissett.
So where do the Colts go from here? Well it will all depend on how Jacoby Brissett performs this season. If he somehow beats the insurmountable odds of taking over for Luck and leading the Colts back to the playoffs, then the Colts may have their quarterback of the future. But if Brissett under-performs and the Colts miss out on the playoffs, then the Colts decision to find a new quarterback may be clearer. The main part of this entire scenario will be where the Colts finish in the standings because even a draft spot lower or higher in the 2020 NFL Draft could mean the difference between drafting a franchise changing quarterback and a game-managing quarterback.
The top two projected quarterbacks entering this season are Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa and Oregon’s Justin Herbert. Other quarterbacks to mention are Georgia’s Jake Fromm, Utah State’s Jordan Love and Washington’s Jacob Eason but as of right now Tagovailoa and Herbert are considered the gems of the quarterback class. If both quarterbacks live up to the hype this season then most will assume both will most likely be drafted in the top 5, maybe even the top 2 picks. What does this mean for the Colts? This means if they like either quarterback then they will need to be one of the worst teams in the entire league or they will need to trade a king’s ransom to secure of the top picks. No matter what happens the future of the Indianapolis Colts may rest on the shoulders of Jacoby Brissett and how he performs over the next 12 months. If he shines, then the Colts have no questions at quarterback but if he doesn’t than all eyes will be on the Colts come draft night. Only time will tell but needless to say the Andrew Luck retirement news is easily one of the biggest surprises in the last few years and good on Luck to take his career in his own hands and decide when it was time to hang up the cleats on move on from the game of football.