Oft-injured Luck says he’s quitting at 29
Cowboys clobber Texans in exhibition
INDIANAPOLIS — Andrew Luck watched one last game from the sideline Saturday.
Then he said goodbye to the NFL.
The Indianapolis Colts quarterback heard boos as he walked away from the field, then walked to the podium and made the surprise decision official. He is retiring at age 29.
“I’m in pain, I’m still in pain. It’s been four years of this pain, rehab cycle,” Luck said. “It’s a myriad of issues — calf strain, posterior ankle impingement, high ankle sprain. Part of my journey going forward will be figuring out how to feel better.”
Luck wasn’t planning to make the announcement following Saturday’s 27-17 loss to the Chicago Bears. But when ESPN first reported the news during the fourth quarter, Luck changed the plan for a Sunday afternoon announcement.
Instead, he held a 25-minute impromptu news conference.
At times he sounded wistful. At others, his voice cracked with emotion.
“There’s no doubt when you hear him talk about the cycle of pain and injury and rehab, you can hear that,” coach Frank Reich said. “There’s a saying in football that everyone knows and everybody lives by, it’s next man up and even though this situation is unique, no one is exempt.”
That task now falls to Jacoby Brissett, a fourth-year player whom the Colts acquired in a cutdown weekend trade two years ago who has been practicing with the starters since April.
He went 4-11 as a starter in the 2017 season after taking over for opening day starter Scott Tolzien.
But the Colts had already been preparing for the possibility Luck might not be ready for the Sept. 8 season opener against the Los Angeles Chargers. Luck was diagnosed with a strained left calf in March and team officials kept him out of all of the team’s offseason workouts.
He returned to limited action when training camp opened in late July. After three practices, though, the lingering pain near his ankle forced him back into rehab. He hadn’t practiced with the team since, though he did throw passes in pregame warmups before last week’s preseason game.
“I had a thought that it might be my last time throwing at Lucas Oil as a current member of the Colts team,” Luck said. “And I wanted to make sure I could go out and enjoy it.”
Saturday
COWBOYS 34, TEXANS 0: In Arlington, Texas, Houston’s Deshaun Watson didn’t get the longer preseason look he wanted against Dallas.
The Texans couldn’t get their quarterback off the field fast enough, especially after running back Lamar Miller was injured on the second play.
Watson didn’t return for a second series after getting dropped twice in three plays. The first play wasn’t a sack because of defensive holding, the second was and resulted in a fumble, the first of four Houston turnovers.
Miller was carted off after defensive tackle Maliek Collins slammed into his left leg at the line of scrimmage in what figures to be Miller’s only carry of the preseason. The eighth-year back didn’t play in the first two exhibitions. There was no immediate update on Miller’s status.
Dak Prescott scrambled and threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Michael Gallup while playing the first two series for Dallas. Prescott was 2 of 5 for 22 yards, the three incompletions his first of the preseason.
Tony Pollard, the starting running back with Ezekiel Elliott holding out, stayed an extra series, when the rookie had a 20-yard run to finish with 26 yards on six carries. Pollard nearly reached the end zone by running 24 yards on a screen, but it was negated by an illegal block penalty on Jason Witten.
Taco Charlton had both the hits on Watson, causing and recovering a fumble on the sack that counted to set up Gallup’s touchdown. The Cowboys had eight sacks.
RAMS 10, BRONCOS 6: In Los Angeles, Brandon Allen passed for 162 yards, and Jalen Greene caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from John Wolford with 12:38 to play in LA’s victory over Denver.
Both coaches sat nearly all of their starters for the final NFL preseason game at the 96-year-old Coliseum, and neither team managed a touchdown before Wolford led a 52-yard drive spanning the final two quarters and capped it with a sharp pass to Greene.
Almost every Rams player expected to make a significant contribution this season skipped this game.
Kevin Hogan went 8 of 12 for 69 yards in the Broncos’ fourth of five preseason games. He and undrafted rookie Brett Rypien ran the Broncos’ offense with rookie Drew Lock sidelined by a sprained thumb on his throwing hand. Hogan is expected to back up Joe Flacco this season.
Rypien went 14 of 23 for 80 yards with an interception in his first preseason action since the Hall of Fame Game on Aug. 1.
SAINTS 28, JETS 13: In East Rutherford, N.J., Drew Brees threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Michael Thomas to cap his only drive in his preseason debut, and New Orleans defeated New York.
Brees didn’t take a snap in the Saints’ first two exhibition games, but Sean Payton gave the 40-yearold quarterback a brief regularseason warmup in this one.
BEARS 27, COLTS 17: In Indianapolis, Chad Kelly led the Colts to all three of their scores and was 16 of 21 with 209 yards and one touchdown — all in the first half. Deon Cain caught three passes for 74 yards, including a 46-yard TD catch.
VIKINGS 20, CARDINALS 9: In Minneapolis, Dalvin Cook had an 85-yard touchdown run for Minnesota, the highlight of an otherwise rough first half by the first-team offense. Rookie Kyler Murray, the first overall pick in the draft to whom new coach Kliff Kingsbury and the Cardinals have turned to lead the reconstruction project, was relatively sharp while going 14 for 21 for 137 yards over the five possessions against a Vikings defense that was almost at full strength.
49ERS 27, CHIEFS 17: In Kansas City, Mo., San Francisco quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was impressive in his return to Arrowhead Stadium, and Chiefs counterpart Patrick Mahomes may have been even better.
Garoppolo was 14 of 20 for 188 yards while playing the entire first half in a much better showing than his preseason debut against Denver last week. Garoppolo led the 49ers deep into Kansas City territory four times.
Mahomes finished 8 of 10 for 126 yards, highlighted by a 62-yard catch-and-run to Damien Williams in which the Chiefs’ injuryprone running back raced right by the woebegone linebacker covering him.
Notes
PANTHERS: Coach Ron Rivera says he expects injured quarterback Cam Newton to return to practice “pretty soon” without giving a timetable. Newton suffered a left midfoot sprain in Carolina’s loss to New England on Thursday.
PATRIOTS: Tight end Lance Kendricks has been suspended for the first game of the season for violating the NFL’s policy and program on substances of abuse.