The NFL season begins this week, which means Andrew Luck is only days away from playing in a real football game for the first time since the end of the 2016 season. Luck, who missed all of last season with a mysterious shoulder injury that was never supposed to keep him out for as long as it did, is finally back. He started throwing again in June, he played in the preseason, and now he's ready for the team's Week 1 date with the Bengals. It took longer than anyone expected, but Luck is finally back.

Before we look ahead to Luck's 2018 season, it's worth revisiting how he got here. It's worth revisiting because that's exactly what Luck himself did. On Tuesday, the Indianapolis Star published a story in which Luck opened up about his arduous recovery process. In that story, Luck was as open and honest as a star athlete will ever get, offering a glimpse into the mental aspect of his comeback. The entire story is worth a read and you can do so by clicking here, but below you'll find a couple of standout quotes.

First, Luck admitted that he was a "miserable SOB" during the process.

"I was a sad, miserable human," he said. "I was not nice to myself, nor was I nice to anyone else. I was a miserable SOB to be around. I was nervous. I was scared."

Luck had every reason to be frustrated. He underwent surgery in January 2017 to fix what was called a lingering shoulder issue and at the time, the Colts said that he'd have no issue returning in time for the season. At the beginning of training camp a year ago, he was placed on the PUP list. He didn't get off the list until just before the regular season. But hope remained. He returned to practice in October, leading many of us to believe that he'd return to a game at some point during the season. Instead, he got placed on injured reserve by November. Later that month, we learned he was heading to Europe for treatment. At that point, nobody expected Luck to return -- to football, not America.

Even Luck doubted his future.

"There was an uncertainty, an apprehension," he said. "I was scared, scared in my core, in my insides. There was a time I was very scared about football, and about my place in football."

But Luck made it back. Though his performance in the preseason was nothing to get excited about, he did at least take a few hits, throw a touchdown, and get past a serious mental hurdle. And now, there's no doubt who will start Week 1 for the Colts, even though a starting-caliber quarterback in Jacoby Brissett sits behind him on the depth chart.

"I'm not going to give a letter grade. Sorry," Luck said of his preseason, per ESPN. "Pass or fail? Pass."

As of now, consider that good enough. Andrew Luck being healthy enough to play in football games is a good thing for the Colts and the NFL. At some point, Luck will need to do more than just "pass," he'll need to reach the heights he achieved before his shoulder injury, but for now, we can just be thankful he's healthy enough to step foot on the field. 

Anyway, in more important news, let's check in with Captain Andrew Luck.