Report: There is a "50 to 60 percent chance" that Andrew Luck plays vs. Patriots

If you're like me, those auto-play videos on the top of articles on some sites get annoying, and I hit the pause button as quickly as I can.  But a tip from one of our readers, RyanGrigsonsDraftPicks, made me go back and watch one of those videos on ESPN, where Mike Wells was awarding game balls from the Colts' 27-20 victory over the Houston Texans.

In the video, Wells snuck in this little tidbit: there's a 50-60% chance that Andrew Luck will play against the New England Patriots.  Here's what Wells said:

"And now they're looking forward to, hoping, that Andre [Johnson] will continue to play well and carry forward, because Indianapolis has a huge game coming up next week.  The New England Patriots at Lucas Oil Stadium, and Andrew Luck will hopefully be back - a source said that [there's a] 50-60% chance that Luck will be back after missing the past two games."

Now, of course, the Colts still have over a week before they'll be playing again in that huge Sunday Night Football matchup, so it's hard to make any sort of guess about Luck's status.  After all, he has been a game-day decision in the last two weeks, so it will be hard to tell over a week in advance.  But what this does tell us is that it's still no certainty that Luck will be out there.  Of course, that's the hope and the expectation right now, as he will have had a few weeks to rest and recover, but it's still not certain right now.

The fact that the Colts decided to start a sick, 40-year old backup quarterback on Thursday night instead of Andrew Luck raised some eyebrows, but it sounds like Andrew Luck wasn't even an option.  Matt Hasselbeck recalled quarterbacks coach Clyde Christensen calling him before the game on Thursday and saying that they would find a way if Hasselbeck was too sick to play.  So why wasn't Luck an option?  Was it because the Colts are just determined to get him the rest he needs and not rush him back, or was it because the injury is worse than they are letting on?  Truth be told, we just don't know.

With a very tough stretch of games coming up (four of the Colts' next five opponents are currently undefeated), the Colts will need to be at full strength and will need their franchise quarterback on the field.  The hope and the expectation is still that Luck will be out there against the Patriots, but at this point it sounds like it's still not certain either.