{"id":26186,"date":"2019-09-04T12:32:03","date_gmt":"2019-09-04T17:32:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/?p=26186"},"modified":"2019-09-04T12:32:14","modified_gmt":"2019-09-04T17:32:14","slug":"colts-qb-andrew-luck-announces-retirement-from-nfl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/sports\/2019\/09\/04\/colts-qb-andrew-luck-announces-retirement-from-nfl\/","title":{"rendered":"Colts QB Andrew Luck Announces Retirement From NFL"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Mere weeks before the start of the regular season in the NFL, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck announced his retirement from the league at the age of 29, citing the mental and physical toll a series of injuries have taken on him throughout his career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\tIn the team\u2019s third preseason game against the Chicago Bears, news of Luck\u2019s retirement broke and the quarterback was booed by the fans in Lucas Oil Stadium as he left the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\tSeveral NFL players spoke out about the actions of the fans in Indy and online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\t\u201cI didn\u2019t like it,\u201d Colts receiver T.Y. Hilton said to IndyStar. \u201cHe didn\u2019t deserve that. He gave a lot to the city and the community. He gave everything he had. What more could you ask?&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Well, surprise was obviously the first emotion,\u201d Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said in a Mad Dog Radio interview. \u201cHe&#8217;s a young player, he&#8217;s had a really, really good career. But I think the second is a little disgust, maybe, at the way that it was handled. Him getting booed, the word leaking out the way that it did, I thought that was a little disgusting because here&#8217;s a guy who&#8217;s making a quality of life decision. And he&#8217;s given a lot to the game. He&#8217;s not a 15-year vet, but he&#8217;s put himself through a ton just to get back on the field.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Related Articles<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/sports\/2019\/04\/04\/the-browns-are-good\/\">The Browns Are Good?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/tartan-news\/2019\/04\/01\/nfl-foundation-renovates-triangle-park\/\">NFL Foundation Renovates Triangle Park<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"26190\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/sports\/2019\/09\/04\/colts-qb-andrew-luck-announces-retirement-from-nfl\/attachment\/miami-dolphins-vs-indianapolis-colts\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/SPORTS-FBN-DOLPHINS-COLTS-28-MCT.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"3000,1825\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;TNS&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;Indianapolis Colts head coach Frank Reich talks with Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck (12) and backup Indianapolis Colts quarterback Jacoby Brissett (7) during a game against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, Nov. 25, 2018 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind. (Sam Riche\/TNS)&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Miami Dolphins vs. Indianapolis Colts&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Miami Dolphins vs. Indianapolis Colts\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Indianapolis Colts head coach Frank Reich talks with Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck (12) and backup Indianapolis Colts quarterback Jacoby Brissett (7) during a game against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, Nov. 25, 2018 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind. (Sam Riche\/TNS)&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/SPORTS-FBN-DOLPHINS-COLTS-28-MCT-300x183.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/SPORTS-FBN-DOLPHINS-COLTS-28-MCT-1024x623.jpg\" src=\"http:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/SPORTS-FBN-DOLPHINS-COLTS-28-MCT-1024x623.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-26190\" width=\"559\" height=\"340\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/SPORTS-FBN-DOLPHINS-COLTS-28-MCT-1024x623.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/SPORTS-FBN-DOLPHINS-COLTS-28-MCT-300x183.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/SPORTS-FBN-DOLPHINS-COLTS-28-MCT-768x467.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 559px) 100vw, 559px\" \/><figcaption>Colts head coach Frank Reich talking with Luck (12) and backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett (7) during a game against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, Nov. 25, 2018 at Lucas Oil Stadium. (Tribune News Service\/Sam Riche)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>\tThe team and Luck held a press conference following the news on Aug. 24, making his retirement official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\t\u201cIt\u2019s been unceasing, unrelenting, both in-season and offseason, and I felt stuck in it,\u201d Luck said. \u201cAnd the only way I see out is to no longer play football. It\u2019s taken my joy of this game away and \u2026 I\u2019ve been stuck in this process (and) haven\u2019t been able to live the life I want to live.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\tDrafted by the Colts in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft, Luck helped turn the team around after it went 2-14 in 2011. In his first three seasons, Luck led the team to winning seasons, playoff games and earned a spot in the Pro Bowl in each of these seasons (as well as a fourth appearance in 2018).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\tHowever, the 2015 season would begin Luck\u2019s injury woes, as he injured his throwing shoulder in Week 3, and missed two games. Midway through that season, he would suffer a lacerated kidney and a partially torn abdominal muscle, placing him on the shelf for the rest of the year and causing the Colts to finish with an 8-8 record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\tLuck rebounded in 2016, working through the nagging shoulder pain and throwing for 4,240 yards and 31 touchdowns and a career-high 63.5 completion percentage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\tHowever, the shoulder injury was taking its toll on Luck, and he missed the entire 2017 campaign after undergoing surgery to repair his labrum in January of that year.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vxCTxoykj44?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><figcaption>Former Colts Kicker Pat McAfee giving his thoughts on Luck&#8217;s retirement and the team&#8217;s failure to protect the quarterback. (YouTube\/ESPN)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\tColts management avoided questions or denied the severity of the injury until surgery, and Luck would suffer several setbacks throughout the year rehabilitating the injury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\tIt wasn\u2019t until June 2018, following extensive rehab, that Luck returned to the gridiron and had a miraculous season, going 10-6 in the regular season, throwing for 4,593 yards, and 39 touchdowns and making it to the playoffs for the first time since 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\tLuck was given the National Football League Comeback Player of the Year Award by the Pro Football Writers Association at the end of the season, with the Colts poised to be the frontrunners in the AFC South in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\tThe tumultuous series of injuries returned for Luck in the offseason, as he faced an unspecified calf\/ankle injury. While reports never detailed the severity of the injury, the pain did not go away, and Luck had no intention of repeating the 2016 season, where he played through the labrum injury, aggravating it in the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\t\u201cIn 2016, after that season when I played through some stuff I made a vow to myself that I would never do that to myself again,\u201d Luck said in his retirement press conference. \u201cThe lack of progress just builds up. \u2026 I feel so much clarity and I\u2019m, again, so grateful for the experiences and the positive times that I have had here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A unique characteristic of Luck was his politeness to defensive backs that would take him down, often telling them \u201cgood job\u201d or \u201cnice hit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s the nicest guy you\u2019d ever meet in your life,\u201d former Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman said in an NFL.com interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/PqHZpreuLeY?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><figcaption>Steve Young&#8217;s analysis of the effects of taking several big hits had on Luck&#8217;s career. (YouTube\/ESPN)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Luck took a number of hits throughout his career, as he was sacked 141 times, more than any other quarterback in the league between 2012 and 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Luck had similar thoughts of leaving the league during his struggle with the shoulder injury, as he spoke last August to Atlantic Reporter Zak Keefer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\t&#8220;There was an uncertainty, an apprehension,\u201d Luck said. \u201cI was scared, scared in my core, in my insides. There was a time I was very scared about football, and about my place in football.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\tLuck ends his career with a 55-33 regular-season record, 2000 completed passes out of 3,290 for 23,671 yards and 171 touchdowns to 83 interceptions according to the official website of the Colts. He ranks third all-time in franchise history in completions, passing attempts, passing yards and touchdowns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He is second in completion percentage (60.8) and quarterback ranking (89.5). He has four Pro Bowl appearances, four trips to the postseason and led his team to a winning record in five out of seven seasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stanford, Luck\u2019s alma-mater holds the quarterback in high regard for putting its football program on the map. He was the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy two years in a row and was the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year in 2011.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Before Luck, Stanford had never won more than 10 games in one season (only three times prior) when Luck\u2019s 2010 team won 12. From 2010-2011, the team won 23 wins, the most since the 1991-1992 seasons. Opposed to its three weeks in the AP top ten in 1971, the 2010-2011 teams spent 24 weeks in the top ten.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"26188\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/sports\/2019\/09\/04\/colts-qb-andrew-luck-announces-retirement-from-nfl\/attachment\/cal-at-stanford-football\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/SPORTS_FBC-CAL-STANFORD_15_SJ.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"3000,2175\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;MCT&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS-1D Mark III&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck (12) throws against California in the third quarter of the 114th Big Game at Stanford Stadium in Stanford, California, on Saturday, November 19, 2011. (Nhat V. Meyer\/San Jose Mercury News\/MCT)&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1321740775&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;400&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;1250&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.001&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Cal at Stanford football&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Cal at Stanford football\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck (12) throws against California in the third quarter of the 114th Big Game at Stanford Stadium in Stanford, California, on Saturday, November 19, 2011. (Nhat V. Meyer\/San Jose Mercury News\/MCT)&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/SPORTS_FBC-CAL-STANFORD_15_SJ-300x218.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/SPORTS_FBC-CAL-STANFORD_15_SJ-1024x742.jpg\" src=\"http:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/SPORTS_FBC-CAL-STANFORD_15_SJ-1024x742.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-26188\" width=\"544\" height=\"394\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/SPORTS_FBC-CAL-STANFORD_15_SJ-1024x742.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/SPORTS_FBC-CAL-STANFORD_15_SJ-300x218.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/SPORTS_FBC-CAL-STANFORD_15_SJ-768x557.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 544px) 100vw, 544px\" \/><figcaption>Luck made a huge splash in his coligate career at Stanford long before replacing Peyton Manning&#8217;s spot in the Colts. (Tribune News Service\/Nhat V. Meyer\/San Jose Mercury News)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>After Luck was drafted in 2012, the team continued to win conference titles and make it to significant BCS Bowl Games, especially the Rose Bowl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Colts begin regular season play with backup Jacoby Brissett at the quarterback position at Los Angeles against the Chargers on Sept. 8.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Henry Wolski<br><\/strong>Associate Editor<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mere weeks before the start of the regular season in the NFL, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck announced his retirement from the league at the age of 29, citing the mental and physical toll a series of injuries have taken on him throughout his career. In the team\u2019s third preseason game against the Chicago Bears, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10416,"featured_media":26187,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2132,2107,3393],"tags":[3526,908,116,2000,919,146,1383,3527],"class_list":["post-26186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football","category-sports","category-u-s-news","tag-andrew-luck","tag-colts","tag-football","tag-henry-wolski","tag-indianapolis","tag-nfl","tag-sports","tag-stanford"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"cc_featured_image_caption":{"caption_text":false,"source_text":false,"source_url":false},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/SPORTS-FBN-GOLDEN-COLUMN-ZUM.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5s3vR-6Om","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26186","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10416"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26186"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26186\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26191,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26186\/revisions\/26191"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}