Colts turned down trade offers for Andrew Luck

INDIANAPOLIS -- Colts owner Jim Irsay hinted during a draft day conversation Saturday that the team has received multiple trade inquiries about franchise quarterback Andrew Luck, only to quickly dismiss them. Luck hasn’t played a game in over a year, and is still rehabbing the surgically-repaired throwing shoulder that kept him on the sideline the entire 2017 season.

Irsay insisted several times that Luck will be cleared for full activity in training camp and has “at least 10 great years” in front of him.

MORE ON COLTS:

► 2018 NFL Draft: Colts focus on skill players in day three of draft

► Colts trade Henry Anderson to the New York Jets

► Get to know the Colts' second- and third-round picks

“Trust me, there were people that would’ve given an unprecedented amount of draft picks, all with a No. 1 (pick) behind them, for him, and we wouldn’t even think of drifting in that direction,” Irsay said. “He’s our guy. We feel 100 percent confident that he is going to come back and lead this football team with some of the new teammates he’s accumulated to great things.”

Asked further about the trade inquiries, Irsay avoided specifics.

“I won’t go any deeper in that,” he said. “We won’t open our doors on that. Let’s just say that I think the rest of the league is anticipating him to return and play great.”

General Manager Chris Ballard confirmed the trade inquiries later Saturday, which came near the trade deadline in 2017, several months after Luck underwent his shoulder operation.

"Come on, I’m not taking those seriously," Ballard said. "We’re not trading Andrew Luck. I’m not putting that on my resume."

Ballard was then asked if he laughed on the phone.

"Absolutely I did."

As for Irsay, he championed Luck’s talents throughout the 23-minute sit-down, not to mention the team’s draft haul – led by Notre Dame’s All-American guard Quenton Nelson. The owner wouldn’t go as far as to say the Colts remain years away from truly competing.

Irsay, ever the optimist, believes Luck will instantly pull the Colts back into relevance.

“Only Andrew can decide how far we are away, because he’s a magic man,” Irsay said. “When he’s healthy and he’s back, he makes up for a lot of deficiencies. When you got a guy like that, it’s hard to say how many deficiencies he can cover up, because he’s special.”

The aim remains the start of training camp for Luck, who still isn’t throwing NFL footballs but has made considerable progress from where he was last fall.

“If we had any doubts, we would’ve talked about the quarterback situation from a backup standpoint and those sorts of things,” Irsay said in reference to the Colts not signing any quarterbacks this offseason. “We really don’t have any doubts, but as you guys know, until he goes out and does it, it’s going to be a matter of great interest and debate.”

Irsay is right about that. Luck’s situation, unpredictable as it’s been, remains the most prominent issue surrounding this football team.

"The progress that he has made, it’s a stepping stone process," Irsay said. "He’s gotta go through practices. He’s gotta get roughed up a little by his teammates, he’s gotta get roughed up in the preseason. He’s gotta play regular season when it’s all on the line. You guys know that this is a process. Football players like Drew Brees have come through (a serious shoulder surgery) and for a decade had excellence. We feel that we have a guy for the next 10 years who’s going to be a great, great football player."

Irsay also dropped news on a few other topics. It sounds like the Colts weighed trading up for coveted pass-rusher Bradley Chubb in Thursday night’s first-round, only to decide Nelson was too good to pass up.

The Colts stayed at sixth overall and took Nelson, the first time they’ve used a first-round pick on that position in 34 years. Ballard has used his remaining picks to add a linebacker, two defensive ends, another guard, two running backs and two wide receivers.

“We had our debates, ‘Do you wanna do anything and take Chubb and give up a third or second (round pick)? Get the pass-rusher, because they’re so coveted? Quenton is such a good football player. He’s so unusual. He just doesn’t have any weaknesses. It’s almost you’re seeing a guy who was a computer simulation of what an offensive lineman should be.”