Former Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck recently gave insight into the puzzling decision he made to retire at 29-years-old.
Luck, who is now 34-years-old, attended a charity event known as the Chuckstrong Tailgate Gala.The event, which is hosted by former Indianapolis head coach Chuck Pagano, is meant to raise money for cancer research. Luck answered many questions about his early retirement at this event.
Before being drafted by the Indianapolis Colts, Andrew Luck was considered one of the best prospects of all time
Before being taken with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, Andrew Luck was considered one of the best prospects in the history of football.
Luck was touted as a No. 1 overall pick coming out of high school before he even played a down for the Stanford Cardinal. He wasn’t recruited as highly as he could’ve been due to his pro-style quarterback play, but he was always a player that many thought could be successful in the NFL.
He immediately made an impact at Stanford in 2009, throwing for 2,575 yards and 13 touchdowns on four interceptions as a freshman. He then went on to finish second in Heisman voting twice as the leader of some of the best Stanford teams in recent history.
He had 3,338 yards passing and 3,517 yards passing in 2010 and 2011, respectively. Over those two years, he threw for 69 touchdowns on just 18 interceptions. He had a completion rate of over 70% in both of his final years with the Cardinal.
Luck didn’t only have good size at 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds, but he was also considered a good quarterback from a cognitive standpoint with mobility to boot. He had everything a quarterback prospect needs physically and mentally, no off-field problems and success in college. There were no downsides to the prospect of Andrew Luck when the Colts drafted him in 2012.
Andrew Luck lived up to the hype during his short stint with the Indianapolis Colts
As was anticipated by many, Luck had no problem succeeding in the NFL. He immediately made the Pro Bowl in his rookie year and finished second in Rookie of the Year voting.
He then proceeded to make three more Pro Bowls and a Comeback Player of the Year Award in 2018, just a year before he retired.
Luck only suffered one losing season with the Colts. They went 11-5 the first three years he was their quarterback and they went 10-6 in the last year he was their quarterback. He threw for over 4,000 yards four times and threw for over 4,500 yards twice.
He led the league in touchdowns in 2014 with 40 passing touchdowns and 16 interceptions on 4,761 yards passing. His last season before retiring saw him throw for 4,593 yards and 39 touchdowns with just 15 interceptions.
Former Indianapolis Colts QB Andrew Luck said his decision to retire in 2019 was final
Former Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck said at the Chuckstrong Tailgate Gala in an article from The Indianapolis Star that his decision to retire was never in question in the five years since.
“When I retired, that part of it was put to bed in my mind in a very simple, sort of direct way,” Luck said in his return to Indianapolis on Friday night for the 12th annual Chuckstrong Tailgate Gala. “There were a lot of complications around it, you know, certainly tormented inside, as you guys saw that night, but I think that part of it has stayed.”
While Luck admits that there are parts of the game that he misses, he wants to reintegrate the game of football into his life in another way.
“There are parts of it you miss,” Luck said. “You don’t get to repeat that in life.”
“Part of me realized that, something in life, that I needed to reintegrate football in a way,” Luck said. “Because I love the game still.”
“Football gave me a lot,” Luck said. “A lot. Most importantly, again, the relationships and the experiences with people that I loved. … I think part of me feels, and I don’t mean this in a cheesy way, but part of me feels like, you know, it’s my turn to give back to this game.”
“I have certainly realized I still love this game, and I want to have it integrated in my life,” Luck said. “It’s just, it’s got to be different.”
Part of the reason Luck retired was the toll the game takes on the body. That toll is far less significant when it is spent on the sideline as a coach and a fan, like Luck is doing now.
He missed the entire 2017 season with an injury and was constantly taking massive hits during his time in the NFL. He took more than 40 sacks twice, including the season right before he missed an entire season with an injury. Many blame a lackluster offensive line for the early retirement of Luck.
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