Indianapolis Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton is expecting to return from the injured reserve list soon, but the journey to this point wasn’t always optimistic.
Hilton admitted he contemplated retirement after suffering a neck injury during the preseason. The veteran wide receiver sought counsel in his best friend and someone who has dealt with that mindset—former Colts quarterback Andrew Luck.
Hilton joked that talking to Luck about retirement probably wasn’t the brightest idea but told the media Thursday that Luck advised him not to make any rash decisions about retirement.
“The first two days when I got home, I almost hung it up. I can’t even lie,” Hilton said Thursday. “I talked to Andrew [Luck] and that was probably the wrong thing to do.”
As soon as Hilton said that line, the media room erupted in laughter. Seeking retirement advice from Luck, who shockingly called it a career at the age of 28 back in 2018, should probably be the one topic to stay away from.
But in true Luck fashion, he gave Hilton sound advice to think through the decision and make sure it’s exactly what he wants before coming to a conclusion.
“Me and him went out a couple times and he came over to my house. We talked and he just wanted me to be good with it, get back healthy, don’t rush it and take your time,” Hilton said. “Other than that, he was a big supporter.”
Hilton said he also sought counsel from his family as they continued to check on him throughout the process of healing.
The neck injury that Hilton suffered was a disc injury that was blocking a nerve. He didn’t have any feeling on his left side.
T.Y. Hilton's C6 disc was blocking his nerve, so he had no feeling on his left side.
Which is pretty freaking scary.
— Joel A. Erickson (@JoelAErickson) October 14, 2021
Hilton has been on the injured reserve list for the first five weeks of the season but was designated to return this week, which makes him eligible to return for the Week 6 game against the Houston Texans. Because of course.
It will be interesting to see what Hilton looks like when he returns, and it’s probably a good thing for the Colts that Luck didn’t convince his former teammate to hand up the spikes.
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