The Indianapolis Colts will have their franchise quarterback in the lineup again after Andrew Luck missed the last two games with a shoulder injury. Luck participated fully in practice all week and will start for the Colts against the New England Patriots, according to NFL Media's Ian Rapoport. In fact, Rapoport says Luck could've played last week if needed.
Andrew Luck will play vs. Patriots in Week 6
Luck missed two games with a shoulder injury, but will be back in the lineup against the Patriots.
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Luck, 26, was struggling for the Colts before his injury and threw an NFL-high seven interceptions in the first three weeks. His replacement, Matt Hasselbeck, led the Colts to back-to-back victories over the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans, despite a bacterial infection that reportedly forced the 40-year-old quarterback to have 8.5 bags of IV fluid on the day of the win over the Texans.
On Monday, the Colts released quarterback Josh Johnson for the second time in seven days after adding him as a backup for Hasselbeck prior to Hasselbeck's starts.
In the first three seasons of Luck’s career, he led the Colts to 11-5 records and improved his passer rating from 76.5 to 87.0 to 96.5. He entered the 2015 season as the betting favorite to win the NFL MVP award, but his slow start and injury will make that conversation a tough one to climb back into.
It will also be tough to earn a win against the undefeated Patriots. Despite three consecutive wins, the Colts have the No. 28 defense and No. 23 offense, while the Patriots are No. 1 on offense and No. 12 on defense.
The Patriots defeated the Colts in the 2014 AFC Championship, 45-7, and Luck finished the game 12-of-33 passing for 126 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions.
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