T.Y. Hilton says Colts have been told Andrew Luck will not play Thursday vs. Steelers

In a conference call today with Pittsburgh media, Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton revealed that the team has been informed in a meeting that quarterback Andrew Luck will not play this Thursday night against the Steelers.

According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Hilton said that “we found out in the team meeting room when he wasn’t there. Coach brought it to our attention.” Hilton added that the team wants to “win for him.”

This certainly qualifies as news, though it’s not unexpected. The Colts have been playing things close to the chest and have yet to officially rule Luck out, but Hilton says that the team has been told that the quarterback will not play on a short week after suffering a concussion. Again, that should surprise no one, but it seems as if we can say it with a bit more certainty now.

Luck suffered a concussion in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s win over the Titans and experienced symptoms later that night, so he entered the concussion protocol. He missed practice on Monday and Tuesday, which on a short week is never a good sign. Chuck Pagano said today that the team is confident in Scott Tolzien, though he declined to say that it would really be Tolzien under center if Luck is out, saying only that “we have options” and that he didn’t want to give out all the information to Mike Tomlin. Furthermore, he was noncommittal about whether Stephen Morris will be promoted to the active roster (saying only “time will tell”), but it would be a shock if he is not.