It’s not uncommon to hear an athlete talk about shocking the world, usually in the context of being heavy underdogs in a game or series. But few have ever actually shocked the world the way Andrew Luck did on Saturday, and ironically, that might be remembered as much as anything from his career.

Luck’s sudden retirement marks the end of a career that seemingly had unlimited potential, but never got near that.

Luck was a much-heralded prospect while in college, thought to be the next big star under center when he was at Stanford. He had all the tools and was built like the right quarterback; so highly was he thought of that the Indianapolis Colts moved on from a legend who still had something left in Peyton Manning to draft Luck with the first overall pick after tanking during the season Manning sat out with a career-threatening neck injury. Luck and Manning knew each other well, with Luck having attended Manning’s Passing Academy, which was one more angle to the story at the time.

Now, Luck is gone just a few years after Manning retired and before turning 30. As he is certainly not alone in being a star who has retired that young, and given what is behind his retirement, it is perhaps one more bad sign for the game of football as well as quarterbacks who try to run a lot.

To call Luck a bust would be terribly inaccurate. While he won’t be enshrined in Canton, he had a much better career than the likes of JaMarcus Russell or Ryan Leaf. Over about five and a half seasons, he averaged over 4,000 yards a season and had a touchdown-to-interception ratio better than 2 to 1. After sitting out the entire 2017 season, he re-emerged in a big way last season for arguably the best season of his career (the only season that can compare is 2014). While I was among those who consistently said I’m more than happy with my team’s quarterback compared to Luck, there’s no denying Luck was a pretty good one when healthy.

But Luck took plenty of beatings over his career, and it’s not just because he was sacked often – an average of about 30 times a year. He tried to run a fair amount and was averse to sliding to end a play, and in the end that may have caught up to him as he took a lot of big hits he didn’t need to. A good rundown of his many injuries comes courtesy of Zak Keefer of The Athletic:

While it is helpful for a quarterback to have some mobility to get away from a pass rush or even run if no one is open, one can also go too far. A quarterback is not a running back. Luck tried to run many times as if he was one, and with the array of injuries he suffered, one has to wonder if that was a big reason it all took such a toll on him that he is calling it a career.

When healthy, Luck was about as good as advertised. The lofty expectations that were placed on him coming into the NFL were perhaps a bit unfair, but if not for the injuries he was on track to put up some great career numbers. The Colts were not consistent winners in his time, and only went as far as one AFC championship game, which doesn’t put a stain on his career but takes a bit off the shine of it. He was among the best quarterbacks in the game, but was overshadowed by others, and with such a shortened career, a fan of the game is left wanting more from his career. It feels incomplete. This is not a plea for him to come back and fight through injuries more; it’s just the reality of having the gifts he had and the resultant expectations for his career. There are perhaps not two more dangerous words in the world of sports than “potential” and “expectations.”

Like the many others who have ended their careers at such a young age due to injuries, Luck knows there is more to life. He just got married this off-season and his wife is expecting their first child, has a Stanford degree and a lot to live for. Save for the shock factor, this is not unlike the retirement of Rob Gronkowski, who also called it a career just a few months ago after plenty of injuries in between being arguably the greatest tight end ever to play the game. You sense that like Gronk, he wanted to retire in enough shape to lead a functional rest of his life, a time which should be much, much longer than his football playing days. It’s also a reminder of how short NFL careers tend to be; Tom Brady and Adam Vinatieri, the latter of who has now amazingly spent more time with the Colts than the Patriots, are the exceptions that prove the rule.

For those reasons, you can’t blame Luck for making this move. It’s very understandable, and this piece of recommended reading by a friend and colleague helps further illuminate that. Even so, the shock of it, seemingly coming out of nowhere, will remain, and may stand out about as much as anything in his career.

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