Andrew Luck's season all but over

Show Caption Hide Caption Video | With Luck out Sunday, Colts new QBs get reps Andrew Luck and new Colts QBs Josh Freeman and Ryan Lindley talked about challenges ahead for Sunday's game vs. Tennessee. (Clark Wade / The Star)

Andrew Luck’s 2015 season is all but over.

The Indianapolis Colts' franchise quarterback has been ruled out of Sunday's regular season finale against Tennessee, essentially eliminating any shot Luck had of returning to the field this year.

While coach Chuck Pagano said it was because Luck wouldn't receiver the proper number of practice repetitions needed to ready him for Sunday, Luck conceded that his lacerated kidney has not fully healed. This comes seven weeks after he was injured in a Nov. 8 victory over the Denver Broncos.

Luck, undeniably, was disappointed. He's been rehabbing for nearly two months in the hope of making it back on the field.

Now that won't happen.

"Football players want to play football," he said. "You feel like you’re letting your teammates down, letting other people down. And when you can’t (play), it stinks."

Though the team, and particularly Luck, held out hope since mid-November that he could return to the field, Luck’s 2015 campaign will end as his worst in the NFL. He ranks 33rd in passer rating (74.9), threw only 15 touchdowns to go with 12 interceptions and completed just 55 percent of this throws. The Colts were 2-5 with him as the starter.

His absence has, in part, led to the Colts’ struggles. The team is 7-8 entering Week 17 and needs nine games to go its way Sunday to earn a playoff spot.

"I was very hopeful and optimistic about getting back to play this week," he said. "I probably know too much about kidneys than I’d wish to know. Unfortunately it hasn't healed. It’s a simple story. Say we win and things turn out the right way, I’m preparing like I’ll be ready to go if we are in the playoffs. That’s my second focus this week."

The Colts, all told, have welcomed 10 different quarterbacks through the door, a stunning figure that is symbolic of this team’s frustrations. While Luck worked out with the team on Wednesday, the Colts watched the two quarterbacks they signed Tuesday – NFL veterans Josh Freeman and Ryan Lindley – practice for the first time.

Pagano said the team would wait until as late as Sunday morning to decide whom the starter is.

The franchise will soon enter an offseason of uncertainty. Among the decisions ahead: Whether to retain general manager Ryan Grigson and coach Chuck Pagano and his staff. There’s also the matter of Luck’s long-term status with the team; he’s due $16.1 million next year, the last of his rookie deal, and is set to become a free agent after the 2016 season. The Colts will hope to lock him up for many years to come this summer before he hits the open market, and owner Jim Irsay has pledged, repeatedly, that Luck isn’t going anywhere.

Luck isn't ready to look back on this year just yet. He knows that when he does, he won't like what he sees.

"Obviously, when the season’s over and I have a little more time for reflection, (I'll be) a little disappointed in myself and how things went to date," he said. "Who knows what happens this week and moving on. We realize it’s a small chance, but it’s a chance."

Call Star reporter Zak Keefer at (317) 444-6134 and follow him on Twitter: @zkeefer.