NFL Rumors: Andrew Luck’s Abrupt Retirement Announcement Was Fault Of Jim Irsay, Who Tried To Get Him To Stay

Andrew Luck’s retirement seemed to come out of nowhere for Indianapolis Colts fans. However, the team’s owner apparently knew it was coming all along and tried to stop it.

A new report from The Boston Globe (via NESN) noted that Luck wanted to retire much earlier in the 2019 offseason, but Colts owner Jim Irsay wouldn’t accept it. He told Luck to take as much time as possible with his rehab and make sure he was in the right mindset. Luck, who was still working his way back from a significant ankle injury, went along with the request and continued on through the team’s preseason.

As the report noted, Luck never seemed to waver on his initial decision.

“Luck reported for training camp, but not really — he mostly rehabbed and worked on his own with personal quarterback coach Tom House, while Jacoby Brissett took all of the reps with the starting offense and acted as the team leader,” the report noted. “Luck held out on the decision as long as he could, but his mind was obviously made up. The fans didn’t see Luck’s retirement coming, but the Colts’ upper brass sure did.”

The delay led to some criticism for Andrew Luck. News of his impending retirement leaked in the middle of the team’s third preseason game, while Luck was on the sidelines talking and joking with his soon-to-be-former teammates. The situation was raw for some Colts fans, who booed Luck as he ran off the field at the conclusion of the preseason game.

As ESPN reported at the time, there was no public indication that Andrew Luck was even considering retirement before the news broke in the middle of the game. The report did note that Luck had told Irsay of his decision, but did not mention just how much advance notice that Luck had apparently given to the team owner.

Andrew Luck, who turns 30 in September, already has met with Colts owner Jim Irsay to tell him of the decision, the source said.https://t.co/VSWUJ4p5hh

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 25, 2019

Luck said he decided to retire after a string of serious injuries sapped his love for the game. After suffering a serious shoulder injury in Week 3 of the 2015 NFL season, Luck would suffer through various other injuries that led him to missing 26 games in the next three years, including the entire 2017 season. The Colts quarterback had a bounceback season last year, throwing for 4,593 yards and 39 touchdowns as he won NFL Comeback Player of the Year. However, he was again injured this offseason and would have missed the start of the season at least.