Andrew Luck will be “completely healed” by 2017 season, Jim Irsay says

Earlier this offseason, Colts quarterback Andrew Luck underwent shoulder surgery to fix an issue that dated back to 2015.

The Colts haven’t given any sort of firm timetable for Luck’s recovery, but owner Jim Irsay today did say that Luck should be ready to go by the time the season starts.

“We are not going to be rushing him,” Irsay said today, according to Colts.com’s Kevin Bowen. “We are going to make sure, obviously, that the shoulder has to be ready and the doctors are going to give full approval before he starts putting real reps on it and that sort of thing. This is going to be a huge benefit in the long run. We really feel that he’s going to be completely healed for the season and he’s going to have a great season. Chris [Ballard] and Chuck [Pagano] have talked and we are going to make sure, if we need an extra arm in camp, as we start doing our work, we will be prepared for that.”

That last phrase seems to imply that Luck might be at least limited some during training camp, since the Colts have talked about the possibility of needing an extra quarterback as they start camp. To be honest, it wouldn’t be all that surprising if Luck is limited at least early on in camp, but it leads to the question of what, if anything, he’ll be able to do during the offseason program. Regardless, Irsay is confident that Luck will be ready to go when the regular season rolls around, which is really what matters.

Since Luck’s shoulder injury dated back to 2015 it means he’s been playing on it for the last two seasons, so it’s understandable for Irsay to be optimistic that this will be a “huge benefit” in the long run and that Luck will have a “great season.” He had a great season last year and the shoulder issue was still lingering, so it’s easy to see why Irsay has high expectations for Luck heading into 2017.

But right now it’s about getting him fully healthy, and a good sign is that he’s no longer in a sling. As his recovery progresses it remains to be seen whether Luck will be able to participate at all in the offseason program and whether he’ll be limited or even sitting out some in camp, but the main thing is that the Colts expect him to be totally ready to go when the regular season rolls around.