It’s never a good time to quit, but it’s better than the alternative

The retirement of Colts quarterback Andrew Luck is more than a football story. It’s about difficult life choices.

The acclaimed Pro Bowler was dealing with a lingering injury in training camp, the latest of several over the past four seasons. Two weeks before the regular season started, he called it quits.

He wouldn’t have been ready to play by the first game anyway. Former teammate Pat McAfee told Colin Cowherd that it could have been three or four months before he could play, meaning most of the season. Luck had already missed all of the 2017 season, and more than half of the 2015 season, due to injuries, and played through injury in 2016, his least-effective season.

But Luck’s 2018 comeback was sensational, and NFL fans had high expectations for the Colts this year. Then there was news that Luck was dealing with another nagging injury. Then Luck retired. Along with everyone else, I didn’t expect it. But once I did hear it, I wasn’t shocked. It must be frustrating to go through the pain of rehab with no improvement, time after time.

The timing, however, was still not ideal. As far as the public knew, Luck would be ready a couple of weeks into the season. Several upset Colts fans booed Luck as the news came during a Colts pre-season game in which Luck didn’t play, but was present on the Colts sidelines.

Colts fans were criticized by virtually everyone. Cowherd, on his August 26 show, however…