Pagano: Luck can't keep playing quarterback 'like a linebacker'

The Indianapolis Colts returned to work Monday following their Week 10 bye, marking, in earnest, the beginning of a prolonged period without injured franchise quarterback Andrew Luck.

But Luck was still a topic of discussion.

Coach Chuck Pagano finally addressed the elephant in the room: The fact that Luck, according to the Colts, was injured while scrambling in the open field versus the Denver Broncos last week. His reluctance to avoid contact — and his preference to take on defenders — could have contributed to his sustaining a lacerated kidney.

And, that, Pagano said, simply can't happen.

"We're going to talk every day until he figures it out and we figure it out as a team," Pagano said. "He knows full well that he can't do that. He can't put himself and this team in jeopardy. You love the grit, and you love the toughness and all that stuff. But playing the position like a linebacker? You can't."

Luck absorbed a direct shot to his midsection from Broncos linebacker Danny Trevathan on the play on which the Colts said he was injured. It was a second-and-9 play, and Luck was well short of the first down, gaining just four yards. Yet he still barreled forward, choosing not to slide and take advantage of the protections afforded NFL quarterbacks. Rules prohibit quarterbacks from being hit once they begin to slide, but Luck has never been a proponent of doing so.

"That's his mentality," Pagano said. "That's how he is. There are some great plays that are made, some first downs that are made. We'll continue to obviously stress that availability is, obviously, huge — especially at that position."

Luck, given his injury, won't be available for anywhere from two to six weeks, the team has said. In the meantime, he's more or less totally inactive. Asked whether Luck can do anything in terms of conditioning at the moment, Pagano suggested that wasn't in the immediate plans.

"As he starts to heal, I'm sure they'll get him back out there doing whatever he can from a conditioning standpoint," Pagano said of the team's medical staff.

Lacerated kidneys can often heal without surgery, as is expected to be the case with Luck. But they require extensive rest while healing is ongoing. And resuming physical activity too soon can affect the healing process, too.

That hasn't stopped Luck from doing whatever he can to help the Colts. He was in attendance during the quarterbacks' position meeting Monday, and backup Matt Hasselbeck already has told Luck he'll be leaning heavily on him in the coming weeks.

Follow Star reporter Stephen Holder on Twitter: @HolderStephen.

Colts at Falcons, 1 p.m. Sunday, CBS