Chris Ballard is ‘still very close’ with Andrew Luck
It has been over two seasons since former Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck decided to retire just three weeks before the 2019 campaign.
Not much has been heard from Luck during this time—we assume he still has a flip phone—but general manager Chris Ballard told Colin Cowherd on the Colin Cowherd podcast that he’s still very close with the former franchise quarterback.
Ballard also took Cowherd through some of his thoughts on the matter when it happened in 2019.
“I care deeply about Andrew. Still do. Still very close with him. A player’s health and well-being long term, it’s important to us. It’s important to me. We are judged by our wins and losses,” Ballard said. “That’s how we’re judged but on the flip side of that. I cannot be emotionally tied. That’s just who I am. I can’t change who I am.
“I was extremely close with Andrew so I understood. Did I like it? Absolutely not. I got this beautiful quarterback who’s a top two or three guy in the league and we think we have a really good young, freaking team and we’re about to take off and we get thrown a curveball. Well, that’s just life.”
Since Luck retired, the Colts rolled with Jacoby Brissett in 2019 en route to a 7-9 season while missing the playoffs. They signed veteran Philip Rivers to a one-year deal in 2020 and he helped lead Indy to a wild-card appearance against the Buffalo Bills.
Now, the Colts will be turning to Carson Wentz, the player they traded for this offseason, giving up two draft picks in the process.
The entire Luck saga is still fresh with some Colts fans, and understandably so. But there is no love lost between the form quarterback and the general manager of the Colts.
