Colts owner Jim Irsay says he wants to see Andrew Luck protect himself. So far this season, that isn’t happening.
Through four games this year, Luck has been sacked 15 times. That’s the most for any player in the NFL this season and puts Luck on pace for a career high in sacks.
If Luck continues this pace and can stay healthy enough to play 16 games, he’ll be sacked 60 times this season. That would be by far the most of any season in his career; Luck’s previous career high was 41 sacks in his rookie season.
The reasons for Luck’s increase in sacks include problems with the offensive line, Luck himself sometimes trying to do too much with his feet instead of throwing the ball away, and the Colts having Luck pass more because they’ve been behind in the second half a lot this year.
But whatever the reasons, the Colts need to do something about it. When the Colts and Luck agreed to a six-year, $139.125 million contract, the idea wasn’t for Luck to spend this much time on his back.