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Luck’s contract not at the top of Irsay’s mind after AFC Championship loss

By Vinnie Criscenzo

Jan 18, 2015; Foxborough, MA, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck (12) runs off the field after losing to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 18, 2015; Foxborough, MA, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck (12) runs off the field after losing to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports /
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Andrew Luck’s new contract is not currently in Jim Irsay’s thought process after AFC Championship loss.

Sunday’s AFC Championship Game was a tough loss for the Indianapolis Colts.

Not only did they lose to the New England Patriots and an opportunity to play in Super Bowl XLIX, but they were completely blown out 45-7.

What’s just as concerning was the play of Colts quarterback Andrew Luck. Luck went just 12-33 for 126 yards and no touchdowns. He also threw two interceptions. Luck never seemed to get in a groove, as he overthrew or missed his wide receivers all night.

In all fairness, though, his receivers didn’t help him too much in this game.

T.Y. Hilton was shadowed all game by Darelle Revis all game and was held to just one receptions for 36 yards. In fact, Hilton still led the team in receiving yards with those 36 yards. The next highest was Dwayne Allen, who had 30 yards of 4 receptions. There were also quite a few dropped passes who should have been easy completions.

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Dan Herron did what he could in his limited amount of rushing attempts (10 rushes for 51 yards), but the Colts basically had to abandon the run early. The Colts defense didn’t really give Luck a chance to get the ball back too often either, as Tom Brady and LeGarrette Blount had their way with the Colts defense.

So while Andrew Luck didn’t have a good game by any means, it was really just an immensely bad game by the Colts as a whole. They seemed to struggle in every facet of the game. Josh Cribbs even lost a fumble on special teams.

Just the imperfect storm it seemed for the Colts.

Even though Andrew Luck had a vastly disappointing performance in what was the biggest game of his career to date, he will still demand a huge raise this offseason. Luck just finished the final year of his entry-level contract, so he will be in need of a new contract once the NFL new year hits on March 10. The Colts have a history of letting their quarterback’s contracts run out before signing them to a new deal.

They did so twice with Peyton Manning during his time with the Colts.

There were reports coming out earlier in the week, according to NBC Pro Football Talk, that the Colts were working on a new deal for Luck that would pay him approximately $25 million per year, making him the highest paid player in the NFL. When asked about Luck’s contract situation after the loss to the Patriots, Irsay said he wasn’t thinking about it.

“I’m not going to discuss Andrew’s contract,” Irsay said. “That’s not something that’s really at the top of my mind.”

While that may have some Colts fans panicking a bit, there really is no need to panic. Irsay knows that Luck is the face of this franchise and they will probably give him whatever he wants. He knows that Luck isn’t the issue with his team, as he’s taken this team a step further in the playoffs every season since coming into the league in 2012. The problem lies with the supporting cast around Andrew Luck. So, it’s not surprising that Irsay will get together with his team and discuss what additions and subtractions he needs to make first before he gets Luck’s new contract together.

If it is true that Luck’s new contract will make him the highest paid player in the NFL, it may be justified. Luck leads all quarterbacks in passing yards this postseason and was third in passing yards during the regular season behind Drew Brees and Ben Roethlisberger. He also led all quarterbacks with 40 passing touchdowns.

At 25, Luck is already in the conversation of being the best quarterback in the NFL. So, in a few years when, most likely, the likes of Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, and Tom Brady are done and Aaron Rodgers is a bit older, Andrew Luck will without a doubt the best quarterback in the NFL.

The huge pay day is probably justified.

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