As he fought back the tears knowing he played his last game in the NFL, Andrew Luck confirmed the reports Saturday that he will retire at age 29. The Indianapolis Colts quarterback admitted retirement isn't what he planned.
"This is not an easy decision. Honestly it's the hardest decision of my life. But it is the right decision for me," Luck said after the Colts' third preseason game in an emotional press conference. "I've been stuck in this process. I haven't been able to live the life I want to live. It's taken the joy out of this game ... the only way forward for me is to remove myself from football."
Andrew Luck's retirement shocked the world, so Will Brinson, John Breech, Ryan Wilson and Sean Wagner-McGough fired up an emergency Pick Six NFL Podcast to break down ever conceivable angle from the news. Can Luck be considered a bust? Who is to blame here? What does this mean for the Colts in fantasy and their win total for 2019? Listen in the player below and subscribe to the podcast here.
Luck has been contemplating retirement for the past two weeks, as the pain on his ankle wasn't subsiding. He felt "quite exhausted, quite tired" after the constant pain from the ankle injury, only two years after recurring shoulder pain cost him his 2017 season. Luck battled rib and shoulder issues for much of 2015 and 2016 before the shoulder injury. Luck returned in 2018 from the shoulder injury to throw for a career-high 4,593 yards with 39 touchdowns and 15 interceptions for a 98.7 passer rating.
"It's been four years of this injury-pain rehab cycle, I can't live the life I want to live moving forward ... I feel quite exhausted and quite tired," Luck said. "I know I am unable to pour my heart and soul into this position … and it's sad, but I also have a lot of clarity in this.
"I've been stuck in this process. I haven't been able to live the life I want to live. Taken the joy out of this game and after 2016 when I played in pain and was unable to regularly practice, I made a vow to myself that I would never go down that path again. I find myself in a similar situation and the only way for me is to remove myself from football and this cycle I've been in. I've come to the proverbial fork in the road and I made the vow to myself that if I ever entered this situation again, I would choose the innocence.
"My wife and I are so proud when people ask us where we're from. We say Indianapolis ... I want to thank football for so many moments in my life. It's the greatest team sport in the world."