Andrew Luck finally had enough. Now, the Indianapolis Colts must move on without one of their best quarterbacks in franchise history.
Injuries and the rigors of rehab simply took too much of a toll on Luck, who called it a career Saturday night after seven NFL seasons. The 29-year-old appeared worn down, and he admitted football was preventing him from living the life he wants to live.
Given the early retirements of Luck and Rob Gronkowski over the span of less than six months, one has to wonder whether this could become the new norm in the league. Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer believes there’s at least one noteworthy player who could follow this path, but before that time comes, Breer thinks the Colts should kick the tires on him.
“While we’re there, (Josh) Rosen was one of the first guys I thought about when Luck retired, mostly because some teams think that Rosen might eventually do what Luck just did,” Breer wrote in his latest “Monday Morning Quarterback” column. “Rosen, like Luck, has interests outside of football, comes from an affluent background and sure seems to have the intellectual horsepower to succeed in other fields. And because Rosen had a concussion issue at UCLA, and his dad’s a doctor, some thought the next ding he took might cause him to contemplate walking away. He obviously hasn’t yet, but being a backup would be an interesting test of that. I still believe in the talent there, so much so that, if I was the Colts, I’d just make a call to the Dolphins to see what it’d take.”
Rosen is an interesting case. After being originally thrust into an environment not conducive for success, the second-year signal-caller was traded to another cellar-dwelling team bound for a rebuild. Rosen very well could find himself in the exact same situation next spring if the Dolphins have a top pick in the draft and fall in love with Tua Tagovailoa or any of the other top QB prospects in the 2020 class. Rosen’s potential is through the roof, but it remains to be seen when he’ll receive a real shot.
As for the Colts, they’ll move forward with Jacoby Brissett as their starting quarterback for the time being. Brissett has shown flashes of being a true starter, and he could prove to be more than fit for the job. But if Indy ultimately doesn’t see it with Brissett, a call to Miami about Rosen probably is worth it.
