As the NFL digests the bitter pill of a franchise quarterback in his prime walking away from the game, chatter has commenced regarding why Andrew Luck is quitting the NFL — and for how long the Colts knew that it could happen.
Per a league source, there’s already scuttlebutt in league circles that the Colts have been aware of Luck’s potential retirement since March, and that they’ve been trying to talk him out of it while also preparing to move forward with Jacoby Brissett as the starting quarterback.
It’s unclear whether the calf strain that became a high-ankle issue was a real injury or a ruse; it’s possible that Luck went through the motions pending a final decision and that the injury helped him decide that it was time to walk away.
Regardless, while the Luck retirement is news to the rest of us (including the team’s paying customers), it’s apparently not news to the Colts.
UPDATE 11:48 p.m. ET: The Colts contend they knew nothing about Luck’s potential retirement until this week.