Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck rocked the NFL last night when the news leaked that he was planning to announce his retirement from the National Football League at a press conference this afternoon. The Colts, who were home for a preseason contest last night, played on as the rest of the football world began to soak in Luck’s decision.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter broke the story wide open last night and by the time the Colts’ contest was through, it was clear to Luck and the Colts that there would be no waiting for today to speak on the decision. Shortly after Indianapolis Colts fans booed Luck off the field, Luck took to the podium and formally announced his retirement from the NFL as a 29-year old star quarterback.
The Colts were one of the favorites to win the AFC this season with Luck at the helm — but injuries and rehab proved to be a toxic cycle for Luck. And so he walks away from the game as the 2018 NFL Comeback Player of the Year just two weeks from the start of the season.
Dolphins fans can relate. It was 15 years ago when Dolphins running back Ricky Williams hung up his cleats for the first time as a 27-year old running back, fresh off of two seasons in Miami in which he logged 872 touches for 3,939 yards from scrimmage in 27 touchdowns. Williams’ retirement came shortly before training camp was scheduled to kickoff — a decision that rocked a Dolphins team that had won 10 games the year prior and was hopeful for a deep playoff run.
Without Williams, the team faltered to 4-12 and never truly recovered.
“I led the NFL in attempts the past two years and they really didn’t go out and get a quarterback to help me, so I knew it’s going to be all on me again,” said Williams.
“I could see my mortality as a football player, that I’m not going to be able to do this much longer,” Williams said. “It just became obvious to me that playing football for me is not going to be fun, not something I’m going to enjoy and it’s time for me to do something different.”
It sounds as though Luck has the same perspective and that was a catalyst for his decision to walk away from the game in his prime.
“I felt stuck in (rehab). And the only way I see out is to no longer to play football. It has taken my joy of this game away,” said Luck at his retirement press conference.
“I’ve been stuck in this process. I haven’t been able to live the life that I want to live…and after 2016 when I played in pain and was unable to regularly practice I made a vow to myself that I would not go down that path again. I find myself in a similar situation and the only way forward for me is to remove myself from football and this cycle that I’m in.”
