Colts didn’t hold rough 2015 season against Andrew Luck

The Indianapolis Colts inked a longterm contract extension with Andrew Luck this week, and we’re starting to see some of the negotiating details come out as the two sides celebrate the deal.

Andrew Luck and the Colts could have had a contentious contract negotiation this offseason. Colts owner Jim Irsay said they wanted to have a deal done in July before camp and Luck spent most of the past few months dodging questions about his future nine figure deal. Irsay said the terms would be shocking while Luck had faith he’d be well taken care of.

Both side were right. But there was always the possibility that this could have become much messier. SOme suggested that Luck might be fed up with a lack of team building and history of bad signings over the past four years. While others theorized that the Colts might have pushed for an even more team friendly deal (or even possibly offering Luck a percentage of the cap each season instead of a hard number).

More from Horseshoe Heroes

• Colts explored hiring former quarterback and current ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky
• When is the NFL Combine 2023? NFL Combine schedule, events, how to stream
• Latest NFL mock draft has Colts trading up to No. 1 for star QB
• Eagles offensive free agents that could follow Shane Steichen to Colts
• Here’s why Colts linebacker Shaq Leonard is going to love Shane Steichen

Even more still pointed to the problems of Luck’s 2015 season, but that turned out not to be an issue in the slightest.

Luck suffered through an injury plagued 2015 season. Even when he was healthy (which is debatable), he didn’t play particularly well. But despite this fact, the Colts didn’t hold a disappointing season against Luck. They didn’t even flag him as “injury prone” following his multiple ailments (some players have taken a salary hit for this very fact).

The terms of the deal are generous to Luck while also being cap friendly for the Colts. In short, the deal won’t cripple the team financially in the future (and didn’t create an unreasonable starting point for other teams coming up on QB contract negotiations).

Colts owner Jim Irsay said that the team never even considered using 2015 as leverage against Luck (via the IndyStar).

"“We never even suggested it as leverage,” Irsay said. “It wasn’t, ‘Well, what about the slow start? Or what happened against Buffalo (in Week 1)?’ The injuries — we didn’t go there. We went along the lines of, and I think both us realizing that we’re very blessed to have us and he’s very excited to be a Colt.”"

Luck will be the first person to tell you that he stunk in 2015. He’s the sort of player who will hold himself to a high standard, even as his body is failing him. There are plenty of instances where Luck was on the field, but clearly not near 100 percent.

Both sides seemed to ignore 2015, but Luck and the Colts share plenty of the blame.

For the Colts, GM Ryan Grigson has failed to adequately protect Luck or take some of the pressure off his shoulders. The team is almost laughably reliant on his abilities. Luck has had nothing resembling a run game and the defense has been mediocre and inconsistent at best. Couple that with the absolute beating he’s taken behind a turnstile of an offensive line and injuries were inevitable for Luck.

Next: Will Luck be the Comeback Player of the Year?

As for Luck, he shares at least a part of the responsibility for the injuries he sustained last season. Most notably his decision to scramble out of the pocket in the Denver game and subsequently attempting to spin out of a tackle only to be speared in the back (which resulted in a kidney laceration) instead of sliding. Luck can do more to protect himself, but it is reasonable to expect better passing protection as well.