Despite the Indianapolis Colts’ former quarterback, Andrew Luck, being about as clear-headed as he could have ever presented himself when he spoke about retiring from the NFL, many still beg to have an answer to his future of whether or not he’ll return to the team. The question isn’t limited to Colts fans either as others outside of the Colts’ fan base also wonder if he’d be available for their team if he decided to return to football.
The question has even been brought up a couple times in press conferences with, both, Frank Reich as well as the recent end-of-season presser with Chris Ballard. And now, his father, Oliver Luck, was asked on ESPN’s The Dan LeBatard Show about his son’s mindset and if he’s noticed any willingness to return to the game the former first-overall pick was expected to dominate for a decade or longer.
Oliver Luck stated “I didn’t notice any hankering from him to get back on the field.” in response which echoes what the Colts’ GM told us just days ago. I mean, is there any other word you’d expect a ‘Luck’ to use other than ‘hankering’ when describing desire? It appears Andrew has gotten his extensive vocabulary honestly.
XFL Commissioner Oliver Luck, to the @LeBatardShow, on whether he thinks his son Andrew will play again in the NFL: “I didn’t notice any hankering from him to get back on the field.”
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 8, 2020
Here is the actual audio clip.
Chris Ballard, when asked about Luck’s future, responded with simplicity by saying “Look” — as Ballard begins most sentences — “Andrew’s retired.”
Ballard also stated that he’s spoken to Luck, though he hadn’t in the past couple weeks, and Ballard doesn’t appear to have gotten anything from him suggesting that Luck desires to return.
When the news first hit the media (Adam Schefter’s historical tweet), and additionally when Luck held his somewhat impromptu press conference, it honestly never occurred to me that Luck would go back on his decision. Andrew has never been an impulsive personality, and if he’d made the decision to leave the game, I was convinced it was for good.
I would love to be wrong in the future, as Luck still would have plenty of football in his future as he’s only 30 years old. However, the Colts, and their fans must accept that the former franchise quarterback is in the rearview mirror, and we’ll collectively need to move on with hopes of another worthy leader coming into the picture sooner rather than later.