The strange, injury-plagued career of Colts quarterback Andrew Luck has taken another shocking turn, as he announced following Indy’s preseason game on Saturday night that he is retiring from football at the age of 29.
Luck’s postgame press conference turned into a retirement press conference after ESPN broke the shocking news during the preseason contest. The quarterback was then booed by his home crowd as he left the field at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Originally planning to address the issue and the media on Sunday, Luck said “it hurt” to hear fans boo him as he walked off the field for the final time.
“This is not an easy decision,” Luck said in the impromptu retirement press conference. “Honestly it’s the hardest decision of my life. But it’s the right decision for me.”
But he’s battled a number of injuries, including a shoulder injury in 2016 that forced him to miss the entire 2017 season. He returned a year ago to win the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award when he threw for more than 4,500 yards with 39 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.
Luck has missed most of the summer to a strange lower leg injury that been diagnosed at various times as a calf injury or ankle issue.
Retiring after seven NFL seasons and before the age of 30, Luck’s retirement is probably the most shocking in the NFL since Lions Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders retired at the age of 30 after the 1998 season.
Luck’s retirement certainly alters the present and future for the Colts franchise, as well as the list of playoff contenders the Patriots must deal with in the AFC.
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