What if Luck wanted to return next year?

[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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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]

Originally Posted by Chaka

... 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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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]

Originally Posted by 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).

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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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.