Andrew Luck will be among the Colts’ inactives when the club faces the Jaguars later today, the club announced, meaning that veteran Matt Hasselbeck will be thrust into the starting quarterback role. Per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link), Indianapolis performed tests on Luck’s injured shoulder and found no structural damage, so it’s possible that Luck’s injury is of the short-term variety.
Today’s contest will mark the first that Luck has missed during his career, as he had started 51 straight games since entering the league in 2012. The 26-year-old had been laboring through his worst season yet, completing just 56% his passes en route to a 5:7 touchdown-to-interception ratio. Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report tweeted last Sunday that many coaches and executives around the league believed that Luck was injured, and obviously his subpar statistics gave some validation to that claim.
Hasselbeck, now 40 years old, will earn his first start since 2012. Since signing with the Colts prior to the 2013 season, Hasselbeck has appeared in seven games in relief of Luck, attempting 56 passes for 431 yards and two scores. The former Seahawk will try to manage the Colts’ offense as the club attempts to even its record at 2-2.