INDIANAPOLIS – What already was going to be a lost season officially became lost for the Indianapolis Colts on Thursday when the team put quarterback Andrew Luck on injured reserve.
The easy way to look at things is to say everything will be back to normal for the Colts once Luck returns for the 2018 season. That's actually part of the reason the Colts are in their current predicament. For so long they felt they would be in position to win the AFC South and make the playoffs as long as Luck was on the field because he's talented enough to cover up so many of the flaws on the roster.
But that approach started backfiring when Luck originally injured his shoulder in Week 3 of the season. Now the franchise has hit rock bottom for the first time since its 2-14 season in 2011. And now Indianapolis is saddled with the uncertainty of not knowing what type of quarterback Luck will be once he does return while also having one of the worst rosters in the NFL.
The days of relying on Luck's right arm are long gone for Indianapolis. First-year general manager Chris Ballard, as he has said, must put a complete roster together because he’s finding out the hard way what it’s like to have a roster that isn’t competitive.
Not having Luck play this season should speed up the rebuilding process for the Colts because he won't be back to try to rescue them and in turn hurt their draft positioning. The Colts are 2-6 with the toughest part of their schedule still awaiting them. Ballard can use the final eight games of the season to get a thorough evaluation of which players he believes fit with the franchise long term.
“I’ve always believed nobody cares about your problems," Ballard said. "Nobody cares. All they care about is the result on Sunday. That’s why I’ve made a big emphasis here, it’s about the team. And it’s about us finding a way to win, no matter who is active and who is playing, and who is not injured or who is here -- finding a way to win on game day, finding a way to win on Sundays.”
The Colts would have the No. 4 pick if the NFL draft were to be held today. They could use the high draft pick to address a position of need, or if there are several quarterbacks who are as good as some think they’ll be, Indianapolis could trade back to stockpile more picks to help its rebuild.
Poor offensive line play has been a major contributor to why Luck will have missed 26 games over the past three seasons by the end of 2017. Luck was able to shake off the countless hits he took early in his career, but the Colts' inability to assemble an offensive line capable of protecting their franchise player finally caught up to them. Luck was sacked 56 times in the 2015 and 2016 seasons. The Colts have used an NFL-high 42 starting offensive line combinations since selecting Luck No. 1 overall in 2012, according to ESPN Stats & Information. The offensive line problems haven't gotten much better this season. Indianapolis has given up an NFL-high 33 sacks.
The Colts will head into free agency in the spring with more than $70 million in salary-cap space available. That should be good enough to help a defense that has consistently been bad under coach Chuck Pagano. The Colts are 31st in the league in total defense and last in points allowed.
Ballard will have to put on his boots and grab his lunch pail because he has a lot of work ahead of him between now and the start of training camp in July 2018.