Ex-Buckeye Mewhort retires from Colts
Jack Mewhort kept trying to play through knee pain.
Eventually, the 26-year-old offensive linemen from Ohio State simply couldn’t anymore.
After the Indianapolis Colts gave the oftinjured offensive lineman a second chance last spring, Mewhort abruptly announced he was retiring Wednesday.
“I would like to thank the Irsay family and the entire Colts organization for giving me the opportunity to live a childhood dream,” Mewhort said, referring to the team owner in a statement released by the team after its morning practice. “The fans and the city of Indianapolis have treated me like one of their own, and I am forever grateful. Wearing the horseshoe was one of the biggest honors I have ever known, and I will always bleed blue.”
Mewhort came to Indianapolis as a secondround draft pick in 2014, billed as part of the long-term solution to protecting quarterback Andrew Luck. His promising career started well.
Mewhort made 14 starts as a rookie, 13 at left guard, one at right tackle, and played well enough in both spots that the Colts moved him to right tackle in 2015.
Three games into the experiment, it was over. Mewhort’s struggles on the leaky line prompted the Colts to move him back to his old spot, where he finished the season by starting the last 13 games.
The devastating knee injuries began in 2016.
He missed six of the last 10 games that season and all but five games in 2017, finishing both seasons on injured reserve. Even when he did play, he was rarely at full strength.
“Jack Mewhort gave this organization everything he had in his four seasons with the team,” general manager Chris Ballard said. “He fought through injuries and played through pain. Jack is a selfless player who always carried a team-first mentality. He is revered among his coaches, teammates and staff, and his leadership will be missed in the locker room. We’re appreciative of Jack’s dedication to the Colts, and we wish him the best moving forward.”
Dallas activated defensive end Randy Gregory off the nonfootball injury list after a year away from football on a substance-abuse suspension.
Gregory has played in just two of the past 32 regular-season games because of multiple suspensions. Commissioner Roger Goodell reinstated him not long before the Cowboys reported to training camp in California. The Hall of Fame Game on Thursday night in Canton will be sort of a homecoming for Chicago Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. He played at North Carolina but is from Mentor.
“I’m excited. The Hall of Fame game is a great opportunity for this team, and it’s a unique place to play,” he said. “Just going back to the Hall of Fame, I’ll have some family coming to the game. It’ll be great to see some family, and it’s an exciting time for this team.”
Trubisky, who will face the Baltimore Ravens, will be taking his first major steps running the new scheme of coach Matt Nagy.
“Our guys have picked up everything that we’ve asked them to do,” Nagy said. “There have been mistakes, but they’re way ahead of the learning curve. So that’s exciting and it tells me that once we get to the regular season we can do more than I initially thought. But we will be growing throughout the season.”