What if Luck wanted to return next year?

[albany ed]

Would you want him back? Would it depend on how JB performs this year?

[DrSpaceman]

this was already brought up

No, I wouldn't, because the first time he gets injured again, and injuries happen in the NFL to all QBs, we are back in this same spot

Plus I don't think there is any way he decides to play again. He has other interests, he is moving on, he doesn't need football the way Peyton or players of that type do and/or did.

If he comes back, you trade him for a haul of draft picks and let Ballard work his magic

[Colt Classic]

He won't play another down for the Colts. Trade him to Denver.

[Chaka]

Would you want him back? Would it depend on how JB performs this year?

Of course we should want him back. Elite QBs are exceedingly rare. And there's this:

https://twitter.com/LALeBron23/status/1165465492037021697

[omahacolt]

Welcome him back with open arms. Would love to have him back.

[Hoopsdoc]

You absolutely welcome him back. There just have to be some sort of assurances that this situation never repeats.

Having said that, there is NO WAY he’s coming back and even if he did, there is NO WAY IN HELL he’s coming back to Indy.

He’d have to have a fresh start.

[Brylok]

Trade him to the Giants. Let him deal with the New York media and fans. See how they react to the phantom injuries, quitting the team, and walking off with $25M for nothing. Think Indy fans are bad? Haha...

[Chromeburn]

Trade him to the Giants. Let him deal with the New York media and fans. See how they react to the phantom injuries, quitting the team, and walking off with $25M for nothing. Think Indy fans are bad? Haha...

Looks like they already have the future with Daniel Jones, he has had the best rookie preseason since 2006.

[HoosierinFL]

I would unless Brissett becomes a surprise revelation, but I don't think its likely. Even then, it may end up that Brissett signs elsewhere, leaving us in need of a new QB. Luck would be better than any other choice available (Nate Sudfeld is an interesting possibility but still not better than Luck).
Or, Brissett is mediocre, which again leaves us looking for better options, and once again Luck is better than any other choice available.

[Oldcolt]

He is NOT coming back. Among other things has everyone forgotten that he said the year off from football saved his relationship with his wife? Think she wants him playing football again? He is gone for good.

[rm1369]

Of course you take him back. The Colts are without a franchise QB and the rest of the roster is approaching SB caliber. Doesn’t matter if he played one year or ten - you roll the dice and try to win a SB. Anyone suggesting otherwise is still too butt hurt to deal with reality. You simply don’t pass on opportunities to win Super Bowls. Things change to quickly.

[Pez]

Right now my butthurt says I would like to refuse. I will look fondly at the years and memories that Luck gave us, but I cant help feeling a bit like I did when Josh McDaniels left us at the altar.

[Oldcolt]

Of course you take him back. The Colts are without a franchise QB and the rest of the roster is approaching SB caliber. Doesn’t matter if he played one year or ten - you roll the dice and try to win a SB. Anyone suggesting otherwise is still too butt hurt to deal with reality. You simply don’t pass on opportunities to win Super Bowls. Things change to quickly.

I'm not so sure. It would mean you'd have to get rid of Jacoby (no way he leads this team this year under these circumstances and Luck comes back and he is the understudy unless Jacoby is a total failure and we have cut him) for a guy that has already quit on the team once (I understand that he had reasons but look at what we are doing looking for a back up and tell me he didn't leave this team in the lurch). I don't think it would be as clear cut as you think. If we can get good draft picks for him (Ballard loves him those draft picks) I'm not so sure we wouldn't rather trade him. In any event he isn't coming back.

[rm1369]

I'm not so sure. It would mean you'd have to get rid of Jacoby (no way he leads this team this year under these circumstances and Luck comes back and he is the understudy unless Jacoby is a total failure and we have cut him) for a guy that has already quit on the team once (I understand that he had reasons but look at what we are doing looking for a back up and tell me he didn't leave this team in the lurch). I don't think it would be as clear cut as you think. If we can get good draft picks for him (Ballard loves him those draft picks) I'm not so sure we wouldn't rather trade him. In any event he isn't coming back.

Unless Jacoby shows himself to be a franchise level QB then, to me, there is no question. He would have to show the ability to put the team on his back for it to make me even consider trading Luck. If he’s a competent game manager type then I’d take Luck with no hesitation. How many teams have won multiple SBs without franchise QBs? So the teams ceiling is likely to be one SB. That’s not bad, but Luck gives you a significantly greater chance in any individual year than a game manager would.

And let’s not forget that Jacoby will be a free agent and he and the Colts will be in a tough spot if he has even a decent season. Is anyone willing to invest franchise QB money in Jacoby if he’s good but not great? Have you seen the numbers being given to QBs? He would rightfully want to cash in and that would put the Colts in a very tough spot. Franchise tag would be more likely than a big contract.

[Oldcolt]

It's an interesting question because of the different aspects to it. I see your point. If the Colts are convinced that he is really coming back it would be tough to swallow watching him have a 10 year hall of fame career somewhere else. I really don't think we have to ever make that decision as an organization. Luck is done with football.

[rm1369]

Unfortunately I agree, I don’t think it’s a scenario we need to worry about. He’s going to enjoy his life outside of football.

[JAFF]

Next we can study the possibility of Superman being raised in Nazi Germany and not Kansas

[albany ed]

It's a message board and the thread is a "what if" thread. I really don't expect Luck to come back, I was just curious how folks would feel if he did. It appears most would be happy to have him back, as would I.

[omahacolt]

Next we can study the possibility of Superman being raised in Nazi Germany and not Kansas

Or what if Jaff made a good post

[JAFF]

Or what if Jaff made a good post
I’d be one good post ahead of you

[Chaka]

Why is everyone so convinced that Luck won't seek to return at some point? I know that the guy has a lot of other interests, and that he said he doesn't foresee returning, but we're still less than a week out from his retirement. Unless you know the guy personally, it's difficult to guess how he'll react to not being the center of attention for the first time in his adult life. He may miss it. I'm not holding my breath or anything, but I don't think his permanent retirement is quite the certainty that some of you make it seem.

[DrSpaceman]

Why is everyone so convinced that Luck won't seek to return at some point? I know that the guy has a lot of other interests, and that he said he doesn't foresee returning, but we're still less than a week out from his retirement. Unless you know the guy personally, it's difficult to guess how he'll react to not being the center of attention for the first time in his adult life. He may miss it. I'm not holding my breath or anything, but I don't think his permanent retirement is quite the certainty that some of you make it seem.

He has plenty of other interests and has plenty of other opportunities, with the connections his dad has along with his league connections, for jobs that will play plenty with much lower risk. I just don't see it happening.

[albany ed]

... I'm not holding my breath or anything, but I don't think his permanent retirement is quite the certainty that some of you make it seem.

I'm not convinced either. He may get to be such an antsy pain in the ass that his wife begs him to return to football.

[Chromeburn]

Why is everyone so convinced that Luck won't seek to return at some point? I know that the guy has a lot of other interests, and that he said he doesn't foresee returning, but we're still less than a week out from his retirement. Unless you know the guy personally, it's difficult to guess how he'll react to not being the center of attention for the first time in his adult life. He may miss it. I'm not holding my breath or anything, but I don't think his permanent retirement is quite the certainty that some of you make it seem.

Being the center of attention has never motivated Luck. If he comes back it won't be for that. Lack of social media presence, flip phone partly to avoid all the requests for his time, he once turned off the TV's in the Standford weight room because they kept talking about him and the draft speculation comparing him to RG3.

If he comes back it will be for the comraderie and the competition within the game itself. I think the comraderie is something he has slowly been withdrawing from the last couple of years. Constantly in the rehab room, he hasn't been out there with the team, or if he was, he was on the sideline. Partly why I think it made this decision easier for him, he doesn't feel connected to the team like he did. Like the military, soldiers may initially go to war for their country, but they fight for each other. That competitive drive may emerge again once he starts feeling better/healthier.

[Oldcolt]

He has said that getting away from football for a year while he rehabbed saved his relationship with his wife. Doubt she pushes him back. The Colts, however, seem to disagree with me as they are doing everything in their power to make coming back easy for him (letting him keep every penny he didn't earn and putting a banner on his Lucas oil picture thanking him for the memories).

[rm1369]

If Luck had retired after the shoulder issue then I’d have thought a return was more likely. But he went through hell to return from the shoulder only to retire from what we’ve been told was a relatively minor ankle injury. That seems to say it’s about the cumulative effects of the game and the stress it puts on his body. That is never going to go away and in fact will likely only get worse as he ages. I don’t think Luck ever saw himself as a QB like Manning or Brady. I think he saw himself as a football player. And I don’t think he would enjoy playing the game falling down when someone got near him to preserve his body. He’s either playing all out or he’s out. So he’s out. And he’s smart guy with a lot of other interests, when his body is feeling better it isn’t going to make him want to play, it’s going to reinforce that he made the right decision.

Of course that’s just my half assed assessment of it. I know I have no real idea what will happen. That’s just why I don’t believe we’ll see him play again. I hope I’m wrong.

[Chaka]

You guys may all be right about Luck’s personality and motivations, but leaving the game will undeniably change his life in a huge way, and I guessing he’s pretty much in uncharted territory since he’s been in the constant spotlight since college or even earlier. He may realize he doesn’t like living like a regular guy after all (and yes, I know he can probably never really be a regular guy, but you know what I mean).

I’m just saying I think there’s a still reasonable chance he could change his mind at some future point. He may realize he misses some aspects of his old life - whether it’s the attention, the comraderie, the competition, or whatever else. As the old saying goes, never say never. He wouldn’t be the first to have second thoughts a year or two down the road and, as Oldcolt pointed out, Irsay certainly hasn’t thrown up any roadblocks to a return.

[JAFF]

He has said that getting away from football for a year while he rehabbed saved his relationship with his wife. Doubt she pushes him back. The Colts, however, seem to disagree with me as they are doing everything in their power to make coming back easy for him (letting him keep every penny he didn't earn and putting a banner on his Lucas oil picture thanking him for the memories).

Thats Irsay. Lucks injuries occurred as a colt dragging several teams into the playoffs. Irsay has always been gracious and generous.

And you know halfway through this football season when Andrew luck doesn’t have any pain and he can move around more freely he’s not having to do rehab ice and hasn’t had a 300 pound man jump on his kidney he’s going to realize he doesn’t miss a game that much

[Colt Classic]

Two years from now and the Colts still don't have a playoff-caliber solution at QB?! With all of the money they have to throw around?!

Even assuming that kind of a worst-case scenario they should trade him at that point just to avoid the clown show of mental health/is he all-in/is he healed questions.

[TheMugwump]

Of course you take him back. The Colts are without a franchise QB and the rest of the roster is approaching SB caliber. Doesn’t matter if he played one year or ten - you roll the dice and try to win a SB. Anyone suggesting otherwise is still too butt hurt to deal with reality. You simply don’t pass on opportunities to win Super Bowls. Things change to quickly.

I'm not butt-hurt at all. I understand and respect his decision and I wish him well.

I just never thought he was as good as most seem to think he was. He certainly was never one of the top-5 in the league at any one time.

Pay someone else his money, let our wizard GM find a diamond in the rough in next year's draft. Keep building the rest of the team.

[YDFL Commish]

I'm not butt-hurt at all. I understand and respect his decision and I wish him well.

I just never thought he was as good as most seem to think he was. He certainly was never one of the top-5 in the league at any one time.

Pay someone else his money, let our wizard GM find a diamond in the rough in next year's draft. Keep building the rest of the team.

Yeah, there were times that he was a debatable top 5 in the league. I would say that 2014 and 2018 were those times.

[omahacolt]

I'm not butt-hurt at all. I understand and respect his decision and I wish him well.

I just never thought he was as good as most seem to think he was. He certainly was never one of the top-5 in the league at any one time.

Pay someone else his money, let our wizard GM find a diamond in the rough in next year's draft. Keep building the rest of the team.

He absolutely was a top 5 qb. Pretty much his whole career

[IndyNorm]

Trade him to the Giants. Let him deal with the New York media and fans. See how they react to the phantom injuries, quitting the team, and walking off with $25M for nothing. Think Indy fans are bad? Haha...

That's what I've been telling people who are all up in arms about how horrible booing Luck was. If he had done this to several other teams the fans would most likely had thrown a lot worse than boos at him, and the local media would be absolutely shredding him right now.

[BCN#1]

I'm not convinced either. He may get to be such an antsy pain in the ass that his wife begs him to return to football.

Reading about mental stress, physical pain. loss of joy playing the game, the one word that stands out to me is "wife".

He seemed fine until he got married earlier this year and now with baby on the way, methinks this was ultimately his spouse laying down the law. Maybe I am wrong but sure makes sense to me at least.

Who knows, maybe he comes back after a year or two but I would be very surprised given how this has played out to date.

[rm1369]

Reading about mental stress, physical pain. loss of joy playing the game, the one word that stands out to me is "wife".

He seemed fine until he got married earlier this year and now with baby on the way, methinks this was ultimately his spouse laying down the law. Maybe I am wrong but sure makes sense to me at least.

Who knows, maybe he comes back after a year or two but I would be very surprised given how this has played out to date.

I think it’s a lot more likely that Luck’s priorities changed after getting married and having a kid on the way than it is his wife “laid down the law”. Luck seems like a genuinely nice, caring guy and it’s not just him that the NFL life affects. Everything from being away from his family for long stretches of the year to his physical abilities when his kids are older to the stress of his wife and eventually his kids watching him take a beating on Sundays.

My daughter was born less than a month before 9/11 and I remember the stress and concern I had all of a sudden when flying or doing anything risky after that. It wasn’t about me dying or getting severely injured, it was about how those things would affect her. I’d also been having knee problems for a couple years prior to her being born. They mostly affected my ability to play sports. Recovery from the surgery would put me on crutches for 6 months with full recovery being even longer. I was to busy for that, so I adjusted how often I played sports and just nursed the knee along instead of doing surgery. I remember carrying my daughter down some stairs and each step my knee would give out after bending slightly and I’d drop to the next step. That had been going on for awhile, but doing it while carrying her changed my perspective. I realized my health was going to affect her in all kinds of ways. I opted for the surgery and started to take better care of my body for the long term, instead of being focused on the now.

Let’s not paint Luck’s wife as some kind of shrew or him as being pussy whipped. I’m sure his wife and kid played heavily into his decision, but it more likely simply because his priorities changed. It definitely sucks for us, but we aren’t and shouldn’t be his priority. His family is, as they should be.