On decision for surgery, buck stopped with Luck
The most important right arm at Indianapolis Colts headquarters belongs to Andrew Luck. It is the chief reason the club can justifiably have future Super Bowl aspirations. It is the single biggest reason for optimism the team possesses.
So it was only fitting that Luck alone be allowed to decide whether that golden arm be subjected to surgery.
The franchise quarterback revealed a couple important pieces of information Monday.
First, he said he was ultimately the one who decided to have surgery in January to correct a lingering issue in his throwing shoulder, thought to be related to his labrum. Then Luck clarified the timeline on his physical issues, disclosing that the injury dates to a pounding he took in September 2015 in a win against the Tennessee Titans that kept him out of the lineup for the next two games.
Luck, as it turns out, has been dealing with the issue ever since. And that’s why surgery became necessary.
“It was my decision, ultimately,” he said. “The team gave me all the resources that I felt like I needed to make the best decision. We sat down after the year with our guys in this building and talked and then went out and got a lot of really good opinions from a lot of doctors around the country. ... I never felt like anybody else was trying to make a decision for me. I made this decision with what I felt was the best information I could find. I have no regrets about going to get surgery.”
Luck, consistent with everyone else in the organization, declined to commit to a timeline for his return. The truth is, there isn’t one. The Colts won’t rush him. And Luck is willing to be patient with the process, even as he longs to get back into action. The Colts began offseason workouts Monday and will soon progress to on-field work. Luck almost certainly will be a spectator.
He’s as competitive as they come. He wants every rep in every practice every week. He’s territorial not because he’s selfish but because he’s an unrelenting competitor. Try telling that guy he can’t take the field. “I want to play,” he said. In the end, though, he thinks this will be worthwhile.
“There were times when you play through pain, there were times when it felt great,” Luck said of the 2016 season. “The reality is everybody plays through pain in the NFL. I’ve played through pain every year. This was a little different beast from the standpoint of ... my practice schedule was different and altered, and certainly that made things difficult from a preparation standpoint.
“There were a couple times during the year where I would get hit in awkward position or an awkward way, and it wouldn’t feel great. And it would be a taxing effort to get ready for the next week and the next week. And it didn’t feel like I could go through that and be productive.”
The decision wasn’t necessarily easy, but using the information provided, it wasn’t difficult to determine the right course of action. Spending an inordinate amount of time in the training room is not an ideal way for a franchise quarterback to prepare for Sundays. And that’s how Luck spent too much of his 2016 season.
The rehab approach used after the 2015 season allowed Luck to play quite well in 2016. The problem, as Luck would learn, is that football is physical. He absorbed more hits and the issue grew worse. Surgery presumably corrects the issue rather than just treating it. Treatment was a temporary solution. Surgery should be permanent.
“This wasn’t an off-the-cuff thing,” Luck said. “I put a lot of time and effort into figuring out a plan after the season. I talked to a lot of people and got some quality, quality information. It honestly wasn’t too hard of a decision.”
Luck is hoping for the offense to improve in 2017, but the unit will have to settle for its quarterback doing classroom work with teammates rather than the onfield variety. It’s unlikely that will happen before training camp, though Luck was adamant he will play all regular-season games.
In the meantime, he’s preparing any which way he can.
“We’re doing a nice job starting to go over last year, and things we did well and things we did not so well,” Luck said (coaches were not permitted to conduct any instruction until Monday). “We’re in Year 2 in this offense, and everybody on offense needs to be taking the next step. Part of that plan and that journey is sitting down with the wideouts, the tight ends and linemen and making sure we are truly on the same page when it comes to the little things.
“That’s my focus right now, because I can’t get on the field and throw with the guys.”