Why Colts QB Andrew Luck is relieved about the condition of his shoulder

Updated on Feb. 21, 2018

INDIANAPOLIS – For a player long on ambiguities but short on information, this was different. For Andrew Luck, this was progress. And for the Indianapolis Colts, this was hope.

The Colts’ franchise quarterback has begun throwing again — a first since he was shut down in late October, his 2017 season wiped out before it ever began — and has, in his mind, ruled out the possibility of a second surgery on the throwing shoulder that’s sidelined him for more than a year.

“Oh, that is not an option for me right now,” Luck said of a second surgery, via video chat during the team’s town hall meeting Tuesday night, speaking with the host of the event, Sports Illustrated’s Peter King.

“That ship has sailed in my mind,” Luck added, “which is also a bit of relief now, if I’m not going to lie.”

Andrew Luck's secret pain: Timeline of an injury the Colts hid for more than a year

Our best deal of 2018: Get a year's subscription for just $9.99.

Luck is currently in Los Angeles, working with renowned quarterbacking gurus Tom House and Adam Dedeaux, strengthening and rebuilding his throwing motion. He further clarified Tuesday what exactly the rehabilitation entails.

“I’m in the middle of sort of a little bit of throwing, but strengthening and preparing my shoulder to be able to handle the throw load that is part of being an NFL quarterback,” he said. “The focus right now is still strengthening all those muscles and making sure my shoulder can handle that.”

Though Luck did not specify that he's throwing footballs at the moment, that step is likely coming very soon.

The development, unequivocally, is welcomed news for a franchise desperate for some positivity on the Luck situation. His uncertain status — no one, at this point, can still definitely know if Luck will return in full this season — remains central to the team’s prospects for 2018 and beyond. Luck strongly ruling out a second surgery, as he did Tuesday, indicates that his recovery is on schedule.

“I know in my heart of hearts, I’m going to be a better thrower, a better quarterback, a better teammate and a better Colt because I’ve been through what I’ve been through,” he said.

The fact that Luck is making progress, and very well could be nearing full strength when the team resumes offseason workouts in late April, immediately infuses hope into a Colts’ offseason that is already stocked with potential. On top of more than $80 million to spend in free agency, the Colts also own the third overall pick in April’s draft, the team’s highest choice since it took Luck first overall six years ago.

His return remains paramount.

More: The backup, the pastor, the coach: Frank Reich's road to the Colts

More: Frank Reich's Colts offense to feature shotgun, no-huddle, run-pass options

As new coach Frank Reich said Tuesday night, an introduction of sorts for him in front of his new fanbase: “If you get the right players,” he said of a rebuilding effort, “it can happen faster than you think.”

For the Colts, always, it begins and ends with Luck.

Reich remained cautious, and maybe he should. He knows he has to win whether or not Luck is out on the field. The Colts' new coach has been in contact with his star QB, but the majority of the conversation wasn't centered on Luck's shoulder. Reich knows Luck will be be back as soon as he's able.

Asked if he expects Luck to be ready for the team's offseason workouts, which is Luck's stated goal and begins in late April, Reich said what he could: He certainly hopes so, but he can't guarantee it'll happen.

"You know what, I’m hopeful that maybe that could happen," Reich said. "I’m hopeful, yeah. I know it sounds odd, but I’m not demanding an answer on that. I’m not, ‘Hey, someone tell me, is he ready?’

"I hope he’s there, but we’ll go on if he’s not. I’m optimistic and I’m hopeful but honestly that’s not the forefront question on my mind every day coming to work."

Luck continued to lean on a talking point he's stressed time and again throughout his rehab: He won't rush this.

“One thing I’ve learned through the last couple of years,” the quarterback continued, “is you can’t skip steps. You have to do everything as well as possible. I have to catch myself, as much as I wanna grab a ball and throw it a million times, I know I have to build up to be able to handle that. And right now I’m in that building phase. And it’s exciting.”

Luck sounded upbeat and optimistic, a far cry from the grim demeanor he displayed during his final news conference of the 2017 season. After returning from a six-week stay in the Netherlands, where he sought continued treatment on his shoulder, he looked, for lack of a better phrase, beaten down. The year’s trials, and disappointments, had clearly worn on him.

This was different. There was an excitement to his words, a conviction that this time, it’ll go differently. The Colts, of course, believed this last summer, and expected him to return within the first month of the regular season. That never happened. And because of it, the team never had a chance.

This go-round, the team and the quarterback remain confident the worst is behind them. Time will tell.

“I feel awesome, I really do,” Luck said Tuesday. “I’m in a great place. It’s been a long journey, and it’ll still be a long journey to hopefully get done whatever we need to get done in Indianapolis.

“The rehab’s been hard at times. (But) I’m getting better. I feel great. I’m extremely optimistic. It’s been fun to see myself improve.”

Luck also touched on Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels spurning the Colts at the 11th hour and, instead, choosing to remain in New England.

“It was odd,” Luck said, “for any fan or player or anybody involved with it. I very much admire our GM, Chris Ballard. I really enjoy being around him, being able to work with him, (and) my immediate reaction was I felt bad for Chris, what he had gone through, left at the altar, per se.”

Luck offered genuine excitement at the thought of working with Reich, a quarterback savant of sorts who played 14 years in the league himself. “I can’t wait to work with him,” he said. Before that happens, Luck needs that shoulder of his to cooperate.

He left the audience of season-ticket holders with this, a reflection of sorts on the trials he’s faced in the last 13 months. It has tested him like nothing in his football career.

And it's made him appreciate the game in a way he never had.

“It was very difficult not to play last year, and to have something that you love to do taken way from you,” he said. “It makes you sort of turn the proverbial mirror on yourself, and look at, ‘Who am I? What am I? What do I truly love to do?’ One of the many things, the blessings, that I’ve gone through, one thing I know is I love football and I want to play so bad.

"I love throwing a football. I love my teammates. I love T.Y. Hilton and Anthony Castonzo and Jack Doyle and Adam Vinatieri. I love those guys. When that’s taken away from you, you sort of appreciate how much joy I got out of that my first five years in the league. To have that taken away from you gives you a perspective and I think I’ll be a better quarterback and teammate because of that perspective.”

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