Now-former Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck shocked the football world on Saturday night by announcing his retirement from the NFL, citing a lengthy and difficult injury recovery that drained him physically and mentally. His exit from the league at just 29 years of age is a shock to the system for maybe every single team, especially the Colts.
What does this mean for the New Orleans Saints? The immediate concern is a Week 15 game against the Colts in New Orleans, which will now see Luck’s backup, Jacoby Brissett, under center. But that game is months away and Brissett himself could be unavailable.
What if the Colts are discouraged by what they see out of Brissett? New Orleans is enjoying rare depth at quarterback, with an entrenched (if aged) starter in Drew Brees and two talented backups in Teddy Bridgewater and Taysom Hill. The Saints acquired Bridgewater in a trade with the New York Jets just last summer, and re-signed him to a one-year contract earlier this offseason to continue developing him as a possible heir to Brees. Hill has become a do-it-all utility player who seems to have improved as a passer, albeit against backups and reserves from the Saints’ preseason opponents.
It wouldn’t be shocking in the least if the Colts started calling teams like the Saints in search of quarterbacks available via trade. And the Saints just may listen if they like Bridgewater and Hill equally enough, or close to it. Bridgewater was moved for a third-round draft pick a year ago; what would he or Hill fetch now?
It’s too soon to say; Luck’s retirement was a sudden development, and surprising for all involved. Any conversations between Indianapolis and New Orleans would happen behind firmly-closed doors, if they happen at all. But the potential is there for further shakeup in quarterbacks rooms across the league, including the Saints’. This is absolutely a situation to monitor moving towards the start of the regular season.
