NFL teams
Mike Wells, ESPN Staff Writer 6y

Frank Reich: Andrew Luck to throw more after June minicamp

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Andrew Luck not-throwing-yet saga has reached the seventh month, but Indianapolis Colts coach Frank Reich says the quarterback will likely ramp up his throwing between the end of mandatory minicamp on June 14 and the start of training camp in late July.

"I would anticipate that," Reich said Wednesday.

Luck, according to Reich, is still not throwing a regulation football. He hasn't thrown a regulation football since the team shut him down and gave him a cortisone shot because of continued soreness in his shoulder in October 2017. The Colts have repeatedly said that they do not plan on skipping any steps in Luck's rehabilitation process.

Luck has been taking part in the team's offseason workouts and team meetings since they began in early April. He participated in individual quarterback drills on Wednesday before going inside the facility and later returning to watch team drills.

"He's like another coach," offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni said last week about Luck. "You get around the coaches and you're able to talk ball with him. Shoot ideas back and forth with him. You're on the same page because you're in there grinding all the time together. He picks it up quick. It's like he's in there all the time because of how smart he is and how high his football intelligence is. It speeds up the process of learning the offense and getting to know each other and what he likes and what we like. It's been a great deal so far."

If Luck does throw between the end of minicamp and the start of training camp, which marks about six weeks later as Reich anticipates, he can throw at the team's facility under the supervision of the medical staff because it'll be part of Luck's rehabilitation program. Members of the coaching staff cannot attend. And if Luck throws to his teammates, he'll have to do it away from the team's facility. Luck said last month that he wants to go into training camp without a "governor," which means he doesn't want to have any restrictions.

Everybody in the Colts organization -- from owner Jim Irsay to Luck -- feels confident that their franchise quarterback will play in 2018 after he missed all of last season following his shoulder surgery in January 2017. Reich calmly said he's "not worried at all" when asked if he had concerns about Luck not throwing yet despite training camp being about two months away.

"I'm completely comfortable with him throwing when he's ready, when the doctors say he's ready," Reich said. "I've been around long enough. He's been around the league a little bit. He's totally engaged in every aspect of what we're doing mentally. The physical part for a guy like him, I think you have to work at it, but I'm not worried about that. I'm comfortable with the process that's in place."

Luck's right shoulder has been the Colts' main focus since he originally injured it in Week 3 of the 2015 season. He's missed 26 games over the past three seasons because of the shoulder injury and a lacerated kidney after not missing a meaningful snap in his first three seasons. The Colts have missed the playoffs in each of the past three seasons while Luck has been dealing with those injuries.

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