Colts Place QB Andrew Luck On Injured Reserve

The Indianapolis Colts announced that they’ve placed QB Andrew Luck on injured reserve Thursday, officially ending his 2017 season.

Luck said Thursday that he’s “very optimistic” about his future, despite the disappointing news that he won’t play at all this season.

“I wish I was better and 100 percent this season, but that’s not the case,” Luck said. “I know I’ll be better from this. I know I’ll be a better quarterback, teammate, person and player from this, and I’m excited for the future.”

It was clear that Luck was likely done for the year after he suffered a setback in his return from shoulder surgery a few weeks ago. The Colts were holding out hope of a late-season return, but there’s really no point in taking any more chances with the team’s franchise quarterback.

Last weekend, Jay Glazer of FOX Sports reported that Luck experienced pain in his throwing shoulder after the team allowed him to practice a few weeks ago, which shouldn’t happen based on a normal timetable for his shoulder surgery and he should actually be back by now.

Luck then visited with specialists to get more opinions and determine what exactly is going on with his shoulder.

Former NFL physician David Chao recently mentioned that while there appears no indication that Luck’s shoulder issues are career-ending, his long-term future is “certainly a concern.”

Chao points out that Luck is already well behind the six-to-nine-month recovery timeline for posterior labral repair after he underwent the procedure back in January.

Chao believes Luck’s 2017 season is already and he wouldn’t be surprised if Luck underwent arthroscopic surgery in the coming months to more precisely determine what the issue is with his throwing shoulder.

“If multiple specialists can’t agree, then looking inside with a scope can provide the assurance that is needed,” Chao writes. “And if there is something structurally wrong, the sooner that is discovered and fixed, the better, lest it starts to impact next season.”

Luck, 27, is a former first-round pick of the Colts back in 2012. He’s currently in the second year of his six-year, $139.125 million contract that includes $87 million guaranteed and is set to make a base salary of $12 million for the 2016 season.

In 2016, Luck appeared in 15 games and thrown for 4,240 yards while completing 63.5 percent of his passes for 31 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. Pro Football Focus had him rated as the No. 4 quarterback out of 36 qualifying players.