The latest news regarding the three-legged-tortoise slow recovery of Colts quarterback Andrew Luck from shoulder surgery performed in January necessarily delays his timetable for a return even deeper into the season. It also raises a fair question: Will he play at all this year?
I’m starting to think he won’t. But I also think the Colts will never admit that.
The Colts ultimately are trying to run a business. And it’s show business. And Andrew Luck is the star of the show, the literal Bette Midler in Rochelle, Rochelle The Musical.
For now, the understudy is performing well enough to keep the Colts within striking distance of first place in the AFC South. If Jacoby Brissett, who arrived via a Labor Day weekend trade, can continue to not drop his frankfurter, it makes sense to let him keep playing -- and to let Luck take even more time to heal.
Besides, how good will Luck be if he returns in November or December? He’ll need to play for more than a few weeks to fully be up to speed, and it seems that it will be at least more than a few weeks until he can play, especially if only two weeks of practice has resulted in a cortisone injection into a sore shoulder.
No, I don’t think he’ll play this year. And I’m certain the Colts will never admit that. The Colts want (need) the fans to continue to have hope, and having a vague sense that Luck will be back helps maintain that hope. Indeed, but for the fact that the team hopelessly bungled the quarterback situation before acquiring Brissett, I’d be tempted to think the Colts have known for months that Luck won’t be ready, but that they wanted to preserve the illusion that he’ll possibly return at some point when his presence will make a difference.
Six years ago, during the Suck for Luck season, the Colts kept alive the perception that Peyton Manning could return from his latest neck surgery. “I think you have to have hope until the doctors rule you out,” Manning said in October of 2011. Indeed, the team didn’t slam the door on Peyton playing until December 19.
For Luck, the biggest remaining question is when the team slams the door on him returning in 2017. It feels like it’s just a matter of time before that happens.