Andrew Luck is one of the most intriguing and tragic stories of a quarterback's career that we have really ever seen. After one of the worst seasons in the history of the franchise, the Indianapolis Colts took Luck with the first pick of the 2012 NFL Draft. This came after the era of the great Peyton Manning, and from the jump, the expectations were that he would fill the shoes of one of the greatest quarterbacks in history, and the man who brought the Colts to two Super Bowls, winning one
Luck did not back down from that challenge, though, and despite playing with a team that had won just two games the year before, he would go on to lead the Colts to 11 wins, and break the single-season record for passing yards by a rookie.
He went on to be a phenomenal quarterback for the franchise, leading the Colts to multiple playoff appearances, including an iconic 31-10 comeback against the Kansas City Chiefs in 2014. Luck brought the Colts out of the darkness of the bottom of the league, and made them a team that felt bound for a championship.
And then, injuries plagued Luck, in 2015, Luck suffered a lacerated kidney and a partially torn abdominal muscle, and missed most of that season. In 2016 he only misssed one game, but followed that season up by getting shoulder surgery on an issue that was bothering him for a while.
He would go on to miss the entire 2017 season with that surgery, but would return in 2018 to win Comeback Player of the Year, and lead the Colts to the Divisional Round of the Playoffs. But that would be his final game, Luck retired two weeks before the 2019 season began, sending the league into a frenzy, saying he lost his joy for the game and was tired of the constant struggle with rehab and getting back.
Luck called it quits, and understandably so, but now that his legacy is all but set in stone, how should we look back on his career? And does he deserve to have his name and legacy enshrined in Canton Ohio? For me, absolutely a resounding yes. Here’s why.