Report: Colts quarterback Andrew Luck "legitimately questionable" for Sunday's game against Jaguars

We've been on Andrew Luck watch all week, as rumors about an injury turned into reality when the Colts confirmed that their franchise quarterback is dealing with an injury to his throwing shoulder.  It's serious enough that is has caused him to be limited in practice the past two days and not throw much, leaving his status for Sunday's game somewhat in question.

The Colts maintained yesterday that Luck would play.  Chuck Pagano said that he had "supreme confidence" that Luck will play, while Luck himself said that, "I fully expect to be out there."  Even today, backup quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said that, "I expect Andrew to play."

But, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, that's no certainty.  In fact, Luck is not expected to throw much (if at all) before Sunday's game and is considered "legitimately questionable."

"Colts QB Andrew Luck threw a little before practice today but the Colts shut him down for the day, per league source. It is unlikely Luck throws much, or at all, before Sunday. Luck is now considered legitimately questionable to play Sunday vs Jaguars. Another factor in the Colts' decision will be that they will play again Thursday night against the Texans."

The fact that the Colts will be playing twice in five days shouldn't be overlooked, as that doesn't give Luck much time whatsoever to recover - particularly before going up against a good Texans defense on Thursday Night Football next week.  Unfortunately for the Colts, they started 1-2, which doesn't give them much room for error at all.  But if Luck's injury is bad enough, there's no reason to rush him back in there.  It's better to let him get healthy than try to have him play injured and deal with something that could get worse or linger for the entire season.

In no way should we rule Luck out for Sunday's game, because, after all, he's incredibly tough and will want to be out there no matter what.  Either way, I think we can expect to see a lot of Frank Gore against the Jaguars, whether the quarterback is Luck or Hasselbeck.  So while we shouldn't rule Luck out, we also must acknowledge this reality: Andrew Luck's status for Sunday's game, for the first time in his NFL career, seems legitimately in question.  We'll get an update from Chuck Pagano tomorrow on Luck's status for the game, but according to Adam Schefter, Luck is considered questionable for the team's division matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars.