Last week, Colts quarterbacks coach Brian Schottenheimer said that the team wasn’t going to change the way quarterback Andrew Luck plays as a result of the injuries that kept him out of the lineup for nine games last year.
Coach Chuck Pagano had a different take earlier this offseason, saying that Luck couldn’t continue playing quarterback with a linebacker in reference to his willingness to take big hits in order to extend plays. Luck spoke to the media after Tuesday’s OTA session in Indianapolis and said he was practicing without limitations.
He also seemed to signal that Pagano’s view is carrying the day while discussing what he has to do to ensure he’s on the field more often this season.
“I have an obligation to keep myself healthy,” Luck said. “Not only to myself, but to this team. That dictates change in preparation and how you do things a little bit. I have to. For example, if a play breaks down in practice making a full speed decision to throw it away. Just to train that aspect of it.”
The personal need to keep himself out of the trainer’s room will only get bigger come the regular season if he hasn’t signed a new contract. Luck is in the final year of his rookie deal and owner Jim Irsay has said he’d like to get a deal done before it expires, although nothing has come to fruition thus far.
While Luck is working on that, he’s also dealing with the “learning curve” that comes with a new quarterbacks coach and a new center that the Colts hope will be part of a return to the playoffs in 2016.
