As the Kansas City Chiefs wrapped up their third preseason game of the season, the biggest NFL story of the year broke. Colts QB Andrew Luck decided to walk away from football after a grueling and lasting battle with injuries.
Following the Chiefs game, reporters asked Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes if he’d heard the news about Luck and his decision.
“Yes, I saw it,” Mahomes said. “I mean, knowing Andrew, he is a great football player of course, but he is also a great human being. For him, I haven’t seen the full variety of news, but he is going to make the right decision for himself and his family.”
Two things stuck out to me about his comments. First is the duality of being both a football player and a person. It’s something that fans often forget while being wound up in the passion of the game. While we may be talking about elite athletes, they are still people, and people who endure pain in order to entertain.
The second thing was that this was no one’s decision to make other than Luck. He knows what was best for himself and his body. It’s also not his fault that he couldn’t handle the beating of the NFL anymore. There are only so many people who can handle it and handle it for many years at a time.
Mahomes will go down as the last QB to duel Luck before his retirement. The two battled during the 2018 divisional round of the playoffs, where the Chiefs defeated the Colts 31-13.
