There's no skating around the notion that the Indianapolis Colts and then-General Manager Ryan Grigson failed Andrew Luck in a major way.
Now, three years after his shocking retirement just weeks before the start of the 2019 season, Bleacher Report ripped open the old wound that had just healed for Colts fans, highlighting the Colts' failure of Andrew Luck as the franchise's biggest regret of the last five years.
Clearly.
It's hard to overlook failing a future Hall of Fame quarterback in the way the Colts did in spectacular fashion after drafting the can't-miss prospect at No. 1 overall in the 2012 draft.
As a painful reminder, the Colts proceeded to spend $207 million combined in free agency deals to names such as Tom Zbikowski, Samson Satele, LaRon Landry, Gosder Cherilus, Ricky Jean Francois, Donald Thomas, Arthur Jones, Andre Johnson, Kendall Langford, Trent Cole, and Patrick Robinson.
Along with the gross negligence by Grigson in free agency, the failure of a general manager also drafted names like Bjoern Werner, Jack Mewhort, D'Joun Smith, Phillip Dorsett, and T.J. Green, to name a few.
Sure, Grigson also clearly hit on the pick of Luck, along with names like T.Y. Hilton and Ryan Kelly, but overall his tenure was poor and put the Colts in a major hole that Luck seemed to always overcome due to his talent on the field alone.
This one is a little broad, but it isn't often a team can lose a top-10 passer to retirement before he turns 30 years old. But the Indianapolis Colts did just that with Andrew Luck, who elected to hang up the cleats after a 2018 season following a career marred by injuries due to an organization that just didn't do enough to protect him. Luck, a prolific franchise passer who posted seven game-winning drives as a rookie in 2012 and a slew of records, is one of the most notable players to ever call it quits in the middle of his prime.The Colts, a team that once infamously traded a first-round pick for running back Trent Richardson, didn't take the need on the offensive line seriously enough until it was too late—Luck took 174 sacks over 86 games, never mind the countless other hits. Due to the debacle, the Colts have been left blindly grasping at gambles like Philip Rivers and Carson Wentz.
Sadly, Bleacher Report is spot on.
Due to Grigson's failure to address the protection in front of Luck quickly enough, the Colts watched a future Hall of Fame quarterback and arguably the most talented signal caller in the NFL walk away from the game he loved because he couldn't bare to deal with another injury.
With Luck hanging the cleats up so early, it's forced current General Manager Chris Ballard to take swings on guys like Philip Rivers and now Carson Wentz to try and fill the Luck-sized hole at quarterback.
Just imagine this current Colts' roster with Luck at the helm instead of Wentz. There's a great chance they'd be considered Super Bowl contenders ahead of the 2021 season, and could be knocking on the doorstep of the third Lombardi Trophy in franchise history.
Instead, they're hoping Wentz will pan out under head coach Frank Reich, and the rest of the team will take another step forward and build towards a Super Bowl run in 2022 and beyond.
Have thoughts on the failure of Andrew Luck being the Colts' biggest regret of the last five years? Drop a line in the comments section below letting us know how you feel.
More must-reads: