Andrew Luck dealing with shoulder and elbow soreness

Colts quarterback Andrew Luck was absent from practice today when the media were watching, which prompted questions about a potential injury for the franchise player. Head coach Chuck Pagano said today that Luck is dealing with soreness to his throwing shoulder and elbow, which is why he was held out today.

Pagano said that Luck was whacked around a bit on Sunday against the Texans, but with that said, Pagano said that Luck should be ok and should be able to play this week. Luck later told the media that he “absolutely” expects to play.

Luck did indeed get beat up quite a bit on Sunday, as he was hit 13 times and sacked once. Pagano understands that the Colts need to be better at protecting the quarterback, saying that they can’t keep going down this road. It’s a continual problem that the Colts have had in protecting Luck, and he’s getting pretty beat up.

He’s missed time in practice almost every week this year due to a right shoulder injury that’s been lingering, but it hasn’t been too big of a deal as long as the Colts managed it. So this is probably something a bit more serious since it warranted a separate injury update, but it still doesn’t sound like a huge deal. It’s still something worth monitoring though, but at this point it’s still expected that he’ll be out there on Sunday when the Colts play the Vikings. But though the Colts won’t and can’t think like this, it wouldn’t be the worst idea to hold him out if his status is iffy since they’re essentially out of the playoff race.