Put skirts on the quarterbacks.
Make ’em play flag football.
Do anything to keep the stars on the field.
OK, so that’s an exaggeration. Everybody knows a big part of the attraction of NFL football is its brutality. Always has been, always will be. That never will be taken out of the game.
My point is I never have and never will complain about rules designed to protect quarterbacks. No team on any level can win without a really good one. They are the stars, the players fans pay big money to watch. That’s why they make the money that they do.
The Indianapolis Colts weren’t the only losers Saturday night when Andrew Luck suddenly, shockingly, announced his retirement after six NFL seasons.
The NFL also lost in a big way.
It’s easy to think the Colts’ opponents this season — including the Steelers — will benefit from Luck’s retirement. The Colts will be much easier to beat with Jacoby Brissett as their quarterback. They went from being a popular choice to reach the Super Bowl to a team that is expected to finish last in the AFC South Division behind Houston, Jacksonville and Tennessee.
But the bigger picture is more important here. There are only about 10 players on the planet at any given time who can excel at quarterback on the professional level. When one is lost because of injury, the game suffers and isn’t as entertaining.
I want to watch Luck, not Brissett.
So do the Indianapolis fans who asked the Colts to refund their ticket money.
Many are begrudging Luck’s decision, especially because of the timing just 15 days before the start of the NFL season. He said he wasn’t enjoying football — life, for that matter — because he was tired of dealing with injuries, pain and rehab. I believe he went to training camp hoping his latest injury — a lingering calf problem — would heal in time for him to play this season. When his body didn’t cooperate, he walked away from more than $58 million on his current contract and, according to Colts owner Jim Irsay, the chance to make nearly half a billion dollars in future earnings.
Luck was booed by many Colts fans as he walked off the field Saturday night after news of his retirement broke. Former NFL quarterback Steve Beurlein jumped on Luck with both feet Monday, writing on Twitter, “To do this to his teammates, organization, fans and the NFL 2 weeks before the season is just not right … Go on IR, get away for a few weeks and think about it … His team needs him to make this run … It is just a lower leg injury and it will heal! Just give it a chance. If it doesn’t walk away after this year.”
Many others have defended Luck’s retirement, including Tom Brady — the greatest quarterback of all time — and Hall of Famer Troy Aikman. No one did more eloquently than San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman, who was Luck’s teammate at Stanford and wrote on Twitter, “This is a very rough game. Most people who have not played at this level will never understand what we put our bodies through season after season. We don’t need the sympathy because this is what we signed up for but to ‘boo’ a man that battled for that city is disgraceful.”
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers chimed in, telling Sirius XM radio Monday that he was disgusted by the booing of Luck. “I think what he did was actually very unselfish. He could be on IR, and then he’s cashing a paycheck from the Colts without playing. But instead he’s making the decision now so they can move forward with Jacoby. He’s making a decision that’s for his own quality of life and happiness. I salute him for that.”
Colts coach Frank Reich said Monday that Luck “did the courageous thing and the honorable thing.”
I’m not willing to go quite that far. Luck, who turns 30 on Sept. 12, has made nearly $100 million from football and is set for life. But I do respect his decision. He did what his right for him. He has every right to want to live the rest of his life of sound mind and body.
The NFL will survive without Luck.
It just won’t be quite as much fun.
Ron Cook: rcook@post-gazette.com and Twitter@RonCookPG. Ron Cook can be heard on the “Cook and Joe” show weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on 93.7 The Fan.
First Published: August 27, 2019, 9:45 a.m.
