A few NFL teams apparently tried to trade for Andrew Luck at the Draft
Colts owner Jim Irsay doesn’t always think before he speaks, but his most recent words might be his most off the wall yet.
After undergoing shoulder surgery that January, Andrew Luck wound up missing the entire 2017 season for the Indianapolis Colts. Even now he is still not throwing a football, but there is optimism he’ll be ready for Week 1.
An increasingly banged up quarterback who has missed 26 games over the last three seasons would not necessarily be in demand. And that leaves aside Luck’s sizeable contract, which takes him through the 2021 season. But don’t tell that to Colts owner Jim Irsay, who insinuated there were significant trade offers out there for the No. 1 pick in the 2012 draft.
"Trust me, there were people that would’ve given an unprecedented amount of draft picks, all with a No. 1 (pick) behind them, for him, and we wouldn’t even think of drifting in that direction,” Irsay said, according to Zak Keefer of Indy Star. “He’s our guy. We feel 100 percent confident that he is going to come back and lead this football team with some of the new teammates he’s accumulated to great things."
Irsay’s affirmation of a commitment to Luck as “our guy” is odd in itself, as if there was any doubt as long as he’s healthy. But the idea multiple trade offers came in is on a different level.
It’s hard to pin down who a trade involving Luck would be worse for-the Colts or the acquiring team. Until he’s actually throwing a normal-sized football again, and he emerges from doing so without issue, the condition of his shoulder will be a great unknown.
About a year ago, a team did inquire about trading for Andrew Luck. The #Colts laughed at them and did not consider it, I’m told. They are confident in Luck’s health. https://t.co/6mKDOma3Xf
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 28, 2018
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The Colts have to ride it out with Luck at this point, for better or worse. Even a fairly desperate quarterback-hungry team can’t really justify parting with draft picks to take on a well-paid, but possibly irreparably damaged, quarterback. But as he likes to do, Irsay has fueled some conversation with words that straddle the line between unrealistic and pure insanity.