Andrew Luck stunned the NFL world by announcing his retirement at the age of 29, after just seven seasons in the league.
Tuesday 10 September 2019 12:20, UK
While many Indianapolis Colts fans are still reeling from Andrew Luck’s stunning retirement, the team’s leadership has already begun the painful process of moving on from the former face of the franchise.
Luck stunned the sports world on Saturday when he announced he was retiring at the age of 29 to put an end to an "unceasing, unrelenting" cycle of pain which has plagued him for the last four years.
Colts owner Jim Irsay summed up the feelings of a shocked organisation and fan base when he said at Luck's hastily-arranged press conference that "part of our heart is broken tonight".
But the Colts will have little time to grieve.
The team will travel to Cincinnati this week ahead of their final preseason game against the Bengals on Thursday, before opening the regular season with a difficult trip to Los Angeles to take on the Chargers on September 8.
General manager Chris Ballard has put together one of the best young rosters in the NFL since taking over in 2017 but he now has a question mark at the NFL's most crucial position, where Jacoby Brissett takes over as the Colts starter.
"We have got a good football team. This is a good football team. We are young, good on both fronts, [we have] some good young skill players and a good young quarterback in Jacoby Brissett," said Ballard.
"This is a good football team. We are young, good on both fronts, (we have) some good young skill players and a good young quarterback in Jacoby Brissett"
Brissett was a third-round pick by the New England Patriots in 2016 but he failed to convince Bill Belichick he had the potential to develop into a successor to Tom Brady, and was traded to the Colts after one season, in exchange for wide receiver Phillip Dorsett.
Brissett, 26, started 15 games for the Colts in 2017, when Luck sat out the season with a shoulder injury.
His numbers were underwhelming. The Colts went 4-11 in those games, with Brissett completing 58.8 per cent of his passes for 3,098 yards, 13 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also rushed for 260 yards and four touchdowns as the Colts went 4-11 on the year.
The Colts will be hoping Brissett has developed going into his fourth season and they rave about his leadership qualities.
"We are not going to ask Jacoby Brissett to be Andrew Luck. Andrew Luck was a unique, unique player, but Jacoby Brissett is a winning football player in this league," Ballard said.
"Jacoby Brissett is a rare, rare leader. He is. He is a rare human being, man. That locker room loves Jacoby Brissett. They love him."
Head coach Frank Reich feels similarly about Brissett.
"Our organisation, to have that kind of leadership at quarterback to go from Andrew Luck to Jacoby Brissett, different kinds of leaders, but both elite leaders. I mean these guys are both elite - Jacoby has those qualities," Reich said.
"As a human being, as an athlete, this guy is as good as they come as a team-mate."
Luck also endorsed Brissett as a worthy successor.
"I am excited for the future of the Colts in large part because of Jacoby," Luck said on Saturday night.
Whether Brissett can fill the void left by Luck remains to be seen.
Luck, the generational college prospect who convinced the Colts to cut Peyton Manning, was supposed to cement his Hall-of-Fame candidacy by bringing a Super Bowl title back to Indianapolis.
Brissett has to show he can be a league average quarterback.
He is going into the final season of his deal so the Colts will have a year to assess him before deciding if he can solve a problem they did not expect to have for about another decade.
But for this season, at least, Brissett is all they have.
"There's a saying in football that everybody knows and everybody lives by: it is next man up," Reich said.
"Although this circumstance is unique, that's a universal principle in this game, and no one is exempt."
