Andrew Luck informs Colts he is retiring

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000001044124/article/colts-qb-andrew-luck-informs-team-he-is-retiring

And in the land of "What the hell?", Andrew Luck has decided to hang up his cleats.

Wow. This is the most shocking retirement since Barry Sanders.

I can't blame him from wanting to walk away from the game with his health.


.... But does anyone realize how fortunate we are that Ben's love the the game never dissipated? A lot of articles I read cited taking a lot of hits and having injuries was one of the big reasons Luck is walking away but our very own BR7 took his lumps early in his career as well.

Best of luck, Luck and enjoy retirement! (And thanks for the win on November 3rd)

This sucks. I really enjoyed watching him play, but I can't blame him walking away with his history of injuries.

I was looking at Luck's draft class and I thought of something. For as much as Steelers fans like to slam Colbert and the front office, what other players taken in the first round would you take over DeCastro?

1 Colts        Andrew Luck QB Stanford
2 Redskins Robert Griffin III QB Baylor
3 Browns Trent Richardson RB Alabama
4 Vikings Matt Kalil OT USC
5 Jaguars Justin Blackmon WR Okla. St.
6 Cowboys Morris Claiborne CB LSU
7 Bucs            Mark Barron S Alabama
8 Dolphins Ryan Tannehill QB Texas A&M
9 Panthers Luke Kuechly LB Boston College
10 Bills        Stephon Gilmore CB South Carolina
11 Chiefs Dontari Poe DT Memphis
12 Eagles Fletcher Cox DT Mississippi State
13 Cardinals Michael Floyd  Notre Dame
14 Rams Michael Brockers DT LSU
15 Seahawks Bruce Irvin DE West Virginia
16 Jets        Quinton Coples DE North Carolina
17 Bengals Dre Kirkpatrick CB Alabama
18 Chargers Melvin Ingram LB South Carolina
19 Bears Shea McClellin DE Boise State
20 Titans Kendall Wright WR Baylor
21 Patriots* Chandler Jones DE Syracuse
22 Browns Brandon Weeden QB Oklahoma State
23 Lions Riley Reiff OT Iowa
24 Steelers David DeCastro G Stanford
25 Patriots* Dont'a Hightower LB Alabama
26 Texans Whitney Mercilus DE Illinois
27 Bengals Kevin Zeitler G Wisconsin
28 Packers Nick Perry LB LSU
29 Vikings Harrison Smith S Notre Dame
30 49ers A. J. Jenkins WR Illinois
31 Bucs        Doug Martin RB Boise State
32 Giants David Wilson RB

I fully support Luck's decision. He knows his body, he knew it was time to call it quits and he didn't hold the team hostage. Luck is a class act, and it's sad that his career was derailed by injuries because the guy was truly fun to watch.

I'll always remember that shoot-out game with the Colts when Ben threw 6TD passes. Luck was right there with him willing his team to stay in the game. One of the most entertaining games I've watched.

IowaSteeler927 wrote:

I fully support Luck's decision. He knows his body, he knew it was time to call it quits and he didn't hold the team hostage. Luck is a class act, and it's sad that his career was derailed by injuries because the guy was truly fun to watch.

I'll always remember that shoot-out game with the Colts when Ben threw 6TD passes. Luck was right there with him willing his team to stay in the game. One of the most entertaining games I've watched.

A class act indeed, unfortunately I can't say the same thing about the Colts' fans who were booing him at the preseason game.

@Wallace From that list I would take Gilmore and Kuechly over DD and maybe Hightower and Chandler Jones. Funny to see that #7 from that draft is also a Steeler now.

Stella Nation wrote:

@Wallace From that list I would take Gilmore and Kuechly over DD and maybe Hightower and Chandler Jones. Funny to see that #7 from that draft is also a Steeler now.

I wouldn't change drafting DD for the world. Guy is an elite talent at RG and if he continues his career the way he has he'll be every bit as good as Faneca was.

That's not to say Gilmore hasn't been a great player, or Kuechly but Kuechly has been injury prone. Decastro has been solid for us since he set his foot in the door.

IowaSteeler927 wrote:

Stella Nation wrote:

@Wallace From that list I would take Gilmore and Kuechly over DD and maybe Hightower and Chandler Jones. Funny to see that #7 from that draft is also a Steeler now.

I wouldn't change drafting DD for the world. Guy is an elite talent at RG and if he continues his career the way he has he'll be every bit as good as Faneca was.

That's not to say Gilmore hasn't been a great player, or Kuechly but Kuechly has been injury prone. Decastro has been solid for us since he set his foot in the door.

You're right about DeCastro, but I would take Gilmore over him because of our woes at CB. With Munchak we had someone who would have developped another player at RG. Probably not as good as DD, but at least a solid one.