Andrew Luck has run out of Luck.
The mercurial Colts quarterback Andrew Luck announced that he has retired from the NFL.
According to the ESPN’s Adam Shefter, Luck had met with Colts’ owner Jim Irsay to tell him that he was calling it quit.
After the the Colts’ 27-17 preseason loss to the Bears on Saturday, Luck announced the decision during a news conference, saying constant injuries he’s dealt with since 2015 — including the ankle injury this summer — have taken his joy out of the game.
“I’ve been stuck in this process,” he said, stopping several times to overcome his emotions. “I haven’t been able to live the life I want to live. It’s taken the joy out of this game … the only way forward for me is to remove myself from football.”
The 29-year-old Luck, the Colts’ top pick in the 2012 draft out of Stanford, has missed 26 games since the 2015 season. He missed time during the 2015 season with a lacerated kidney and missed the entire 2017 season after shoulder surgery.
The Colts were 2-14 the season before drafting Luck, when previous franchise QB Peyton Manning missed the season with a neck injury. After landing Luck, the Colts waived Manning, who landed in Denver and eventually won Super Bowl 50 with the Broncos.
The team improved to 11-5 in Luck’s first season, and matched that mark the next two as well. They lost to the Ravens in a wild-card game following the 2012 season, to the Patriots in the divisional round following 2013, and again to the Patriots the following season in the conference championship.
Luck’s teams were 8-8 the next two years before bottoming out at 4-12 in 2017 with him sidelined. He returned last, guiding the Colts to a 10-6 mark, eventually losing to the Chiefs in the divisional round, and earned the league’s Comeback Player of the Year award.
He made four Pro Bowls and was the 2014 leader in passing touchdowns.
Jacoby Brissett, who has a 5-12 mark in 17 total starts for the Colts and Patriots, will step into the starting role.
