Colts place Luck on injured reserve
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck will be placed on injured reserve, probably ending his season, general manager Chris Ballard announced Thursday.
“We’re going to shut his throwing down and we’re going to continue rehab, hard rehab,” Ballard said.
Since undergoing surgery in January for a partially torn labrum in his throwing shoulder, the star quarterback missed all of Indy’s offseason workouts, training camp, the preseason and will miss his ninth straight regular- season game Sunday at Houston. The Colts are 2- 6.
Luck didn’t even start throwing to teammates until early October and was shut down two weeks later after complaining of soreness in his right shoulder.
“He was frustrated. He’s a competitive guy, he knows the impact he has on a Sunday,” Ballard said. “He’s a difference- maker. He’s one of the best quarterbacks in the league, so he’s frustrated.”
NFL urges denial of Elliott appeal
NFL lawyers told the 2nd U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan that it should not interfere with Ezekiel Elliott beginning his suspension Sunday when the Cowboys play Kansas City at home because the NFL Players Assn. “has no likelihood of success on appeal.”
The union has asked the court to block the start of the suspension until it considers its request to overturn a lower- court ruling on the grounds that Elliott’s career will be irreparably harmed if his suspension begins now.
The league said in a written submission that the public, including NFL fans and victims of abuse, have a “strong interest” in seeing that penalties stemming from domestic abuse by NFL players are promptly investigated and that discipline is imposed in a timely manner.
Etc.
The San Francisco 49ers will place receiver Pierre Garcon on injured reserve for the remainder of the season with a broken bone in his neck. . . . Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston practiced again Thursday, throwing for the second straight day in preparation to face the New Orleans Saints. It was the f irst time Winston has thrown early in the week since spraining the AC joint in his right shoulder Oct. 15. . . . Midway through a season remembered for its protests by some players during the national anthem as much as bone- crunching hits, viewership for games is down 5%. The average NFL game this season has attracted 14.8 million viewers, down from 15.6 million at the same point last year, the Nielsen company said.