Former Colts quarterback Peyton Manning missed an entire season due to a neck injury during his playing career and he used that experience to offer some advice to current Colts quarterback Andrew Luck when it comes to his attempt to return from the right shoulder injury that kept him out for all of last season.
Manning said that “getting as many reps as possible is key” to returning to form and Luck will get some of his reps in before training camp starts next month. During an interview with Dave Calabro of WTHR, Luck said that he will be working out with the team’s wide receivers in the coming weeks.
“Yeah, I will,” Luck said. “I won’t divulge too many secrets on that. But I absolutely will. It’s part of the plan.”
Luck and T.Y. Hilton have played a lot of football together and Chester Rogers was on the team in 2016, but neither Ryan Grant nor the two receivers the Colts drafted in April have had time to build their relationships with Luck as he’s concentrated on rehab this offseason.
A few pre-camp sessions won’t end the questions that Luck faces about his return and won’t knock off all the rust that’s accumulated over the last year. The same will likely be true of a training camp plan designed to avoid any setbacks with his shoulder, but anything that pushes him closer to an actual return to the lineup will be a welcome development in Indianapolis.