When the Indianapolis Colts reported for the start of offseason workouts on Monday, all eyes were on quarterback Andrew Luck, and he created some headlines with his comments. Asked if he was feeling 100% yet after missing nine games last year due to injury, Luck said no and that he still had some work to do.
He also said that his kidney is fine and that his shoulder is doing good, but that didn't stop Colts fans from freaking out. After all, months after his injury the quarterback is still saying he's not yet 100%?
Colts general manager Ryan Grigson held his pre-draft press conference on Wednesday and CBS4's Mike Chappell rightly asked the GM about Luck's comments - but he didn't get to finish the question, as Grigson cut him off.
"Let me cut you off: he's fine," Grigson said. "Alright? He's fine. He's fine. We had a process that he was to follow in the offseason, Coach, myself, Mr. Irsay was privy to it. He's just meticulously, in an Andrew Luck-type way, going through his rehab and strengthening program to a T. He is going to be fine."
Most of the pre-draft presser was exactly what you'd expect, but the one time that Grigson really got animated was when talking about Luck, as he was adamant in his insistence that the quarterback is ok. Basically, Grigson was saying that Luck's comments were just Andrew Luck being Andrew Luck and always wanting to get better and do exactly what he needs to do. It sounds like the Colts have a plan for Luck health-wise all offseason, and so Luck wants to keep following that and keep getting better and better.
Some Colts fans will choose not to believe Grigson based on the Colts' track record in talking about Andrew Luck's injuries (in short, they haven't been the most trustworthy), but his adamant denial should certainly be noticed. Luck said he was doing ok on Monday, Jim Irsay had said as much earlier this year, and now Ryan Grigson is saying the same thing.
The biggest takeaway is the very same thing I said on Monday: don't freak out yet. Until we actually see Luck limited on the field and still dealing with the effects of the injury, there shouldn't be reason to freak out, and Ryan Grigson did his part in trying to put the speculation to rest on Wednesday as he repeatedly said that the team's franchise quarterback is fine.