Ex Stanford QB Andrew Luck Retires From NFL

PALO ALTO, CA — During some of the Cardinal football games, former Stanford University quarterback Andrew Luck seemed invincible.

But then the reality of seven seasons set in of the knock-'em, sock-'em National Football League, aka 'big time,' for the brains behind the Indianapolis Colts, and the high-flying, 29-year-old star QB decides to retire after so much injury and rehab, the New York Times reported.

The Pro Bowl quarterback suffered from severe injuries throughout his career, missing nine games in 2015 and the entire 2017 season. A nagging ankle injury was the most recent to have kept him out, including the year's preseason games, the Times reported. One was in progress on Saturday night when the news of his retirement first broke with reports by ESPN and the NFL Network.

Luck confirmed the reports at a postgame news conference that brought him to tears.
Luck, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 draft who followed the star quality of Peyton Manning, another franchise icon with serious injuries of his own, the Times added.

In just 86 career regular-season games, Luck produced a 53-33 record, and his 171 touchdown passes trailed only Dan Marino, Aaron Rodgers and Brett Favre for the most in the first 100 starts of a quarterback’s career.

Stanford students, alumni and fans remember him most as the face of the Cardinal and the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy in 2010 and 2011 having played for Jim Harbaugh. The latter year gave him the distinction of being the Offensive Player of the Year in the Pac-12 Conference.

According to university: Luck is considered "one of the top quarterbacks ever to play at Stanford."

Read the New York Times full story.