Andrew Luck is back around football, but not in the way Colts fans once knew him. The former Indianapolis quarterback, now Stanford’s general manager, opened up on The McShay Show about the emotional weight of stepping away from the game and how he’s rebuilt his connection to it since retiring in 2019.
Luck said part of the challenge was facing what his exit meant to the people around him.
"Coming to terms with the feeling of quitting on your teammates, because that's what I felt, that's a part of what I did," Luck said.
He retired abruptly ahead of the 2019 season, just three seasons after signing a six-year extension in Indianapolis. In the years that followed, he said he had to reckon with how much of himself had been tied to playing.
"There was a massive part of my identity that no longer existed," Luck said.
Eventually, he found his way back into the sport in a different role. Luck started out as a volunteer coach at Palo Alto High School in California before moving into his current position with Stanford, which he described as being "across the street" from where he went to school.
"I'm in love with this game in a different way," Luck said.
Luck is now entering his second season as general manager of the Cardinal, and he’s doing it without the same on-field pressure that defined his NFL career. The game that once shaped his identity is still part of his life - just from a very different vantage point.
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For Indianapolis, the trial run carries more than just special teams interest. If Dulin can handle both return roles, it could give the team more flexibility when it comes time to trim the wide receiver group, with Laquon Treadwell and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine both in the conversation for spots that may be easier to preserve if the Colts do not have to dedicate extra depth to return duties. [Read more 🡒]
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For the Colts, the timing matters because Pierce is not just another body getting eased along in camp. He signed a four-year, $114 million contract and is expected to be a key piece of the offense, so every step he takes now carries real weight for a team trying to sharpen its passing game before September. The only question left is how quickly he can translate this recovery into the form Indianapolis needs from him. [Read more 🡒]
Colts Secondary Is Earning Buzz For One Reason Fans Understand
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Much of the optimism starts with Sauce Gardner, who spent four games with Indianapolis last season after arriving in a midseason trade from the Jets, and with Charvarius Ward, who is heading into his second year with the Colts after a strong 2024 season. Wards impact was still apparent even while dealing with injuries last year, and the expectation now is straightforward: if both corners stay healthy, this group has a chance to be one of the more reliable units on the roster. [Read more 🡒]