The Indianapolis Colts are shelving Andrew Luck for 2017.
The team announced Thursday the quarterback will be placed on injured reserve.
Luck underwent surgery on his throwing shoulder in January. Despite early optimism that he would be ready for the 2017 season, the Pro Bowler has missed the entire season and will be shut down for the remainder of the year.
"I wish I was better and 100 percent this season, but that's not the case," Luck told the team's official website on Thursday. "I know I'll be better from this. I know I'll be a better quarterback, teammate, person and player from this, and I'm excited for the future."
Luck missed all offseason, training camp and the preseason. He returned to practice in early October doing light throwing. After suffering a setback, the 28-year-old was held out of practices and had a cortisone injection in hopes to relieve soreness in the injured shoulder.
When that avenue didn't work, the team shut down their franchise signal-caller for the season.
General manager Chris Ballard said Thursday the plan for Luck is rest and rehab. The QB won't undergo a second operation. Ballard dismissed the idea the shoulder injury could be career threatening.
"The shoulder is subjective and after a surgery everybody is different. Everybody rehabs in a different way," Ballard told reporters. "So we're going to shut his throwing down and continue rehab. We're going to continue hard rehab. We think for the long-term interest of Andrew, this is the best course of action."
Ballard added: "I've heard all kinds of rumors of career ending -- that's not the case here. I have not gotten that from one doctor. Career-ending is putting him out on the field before he's ready to play -- that is where you should be concerned. We're doing everything we can as an organization to give Andrew a chance and Andrew is doing everything he can to have a chance to have a long-term career. That's what he plans on doing and that's what we plan on him doing."
The Colts are 16 games above .500 in 70 games with Luck, and are two games below .500 in 18 games without him since 2012, per NFL Research. Luck missed nine games in 2015 with right shoulder (2) and kidney/abdomen (7) injuries; in 2016 he missed one game due to a concussion. The shoulder injury suffered early in 2015 never stopped lingering and now wipes out an entire year of Luck's prime.
"He was frustrated. He's a competitive guy and not only is he a competitive guy, he cares about his teammates and he cares about this organization," Ballard said. "He knows about the impact his has on Sunday. He's a difference maker. He's one of the top quarterbacks in this league so he's frustrated, he's absolutely frustrated. In saying that, I think he's got great resolve and I think all of this ... I think a year of his body healing, getting the shoulder right -- I think we're going to see an even better Andrew down the line."
Placing Luck on IR ends season-long speculation about when the QB could return and places the franchise squarely in the hands of second-year passer Jacoby Brissett, who has started the past seven games. In hindsight, the move to trade for Brissett appears prescient. NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport also reports that the team is expected to add veteran signal-caller Josh Johnson to add depth behind Brissett.
By shutting down Luck for the balance of the season the Colts hope their $100-million quarterback can return to full force in 2018. The franchise has been a ship lost at sea without the man who masked many deficiencies during his career in Indy.
