The season-ending injury for quarterback Andrew Luck puts the Indianapolis Colts in a bit of a tough spot moving forward.
The Indianapolis Colts will finish the 2017 season without their franchise player. Thursday, the team announced that quarterback Andrew Luck will be placed on injured reserve. This is stemming from Luck’s shoulder surgery that he underwent in January. The hope was that he would be better and ready for the 2017 season, but that was not the case as he has missed the entire season.
Luck did not participate in offseason workouts, training camp, or preseason activities. Light throwing was all he could do and after cortisone shots did nothing to relieve pain in his shoulder, the team elected to shut him down.
General manager Chris Ballard told reporters that the plan from here on out is rehab and some rest. Ballard said the quarterback will not need to have a second operation, per NFL.com:
"“The shoulder is subjective and after a surgery everybody is different. Everybody rehabs in a different way. So we’re going to shut his throwing down and continue rehab. We’re going to continue hard rehab. We think for the long-term interest of Andrew, this is the best course of action.”"
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What does this mean for the Colts? Right now, it means that Jacoby Brissett is leading the charge, something he probably did not predict heading into the season as New England’s third-string backup. So far this season for the Colts, he has played in eight games, throwing for 1,642 yards, five touchdowns and four interceptions. Although he is a quarterback that has some things he needs to work on, there is no denying he possesses a special skillset.
With that in mind, this puts the Colts at a crossroads for the future. Say, for the sake of argument, Brissett performs well for the rest of the season. Do you make him the starter next season with the uncertainty of Luck’s injury still looming? We do not know how he will come back next season, and what if he can’t?
On the flipside, what if Luck comes back at full strength. Do you leave Brissett on the bench? At that point you risk having an unhappy quarterback (see the Jimmy Garoppolo situation for more information.)
Either way, the Colts will need to draft a quarterback in this year’s draft. Especially with how deep this one is in terms of talent at the position, taking one is almost a necessity. Whether Brissett or Luck is the future quarterback of the Colts, they both have red flags. One has to wonder if Brissett can keep up his production while on the other side of the coin, one has to wonder if Luck is healthy enough for the future. Either way, the organization needs to begin the development process with another quarterback.
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Andrew Luck’s future is now very cloudy. This is not what the Colts had in mind, but nevertheless the need to adapt and adjust. The hope is that Luck will be back stronger than ever come 2018.