When the Colts announced in early November that Andrew Luck would miss some time with a lacerated kidney, the team had hoped that he'd be able to return after taking "2-6 weeks" off to heal.
That won't be happening.
Colts coach Chuck Pagano announced Monday that Luck has been ruled out for the Colts' Week 16 game against Miami.
Luck hasn't played since Week 9, when he helped engineer a 27-24 upset of the Broncos, who were 7-0 at the time. That game came one week after Luck and the Colts almost upset the Panthers in Carolina, in a game that Indy would lose in overtime, 29-26.
In the five games that Luck has missed since Week 9, the Colts have struggled, going 2-3. The team is currently on a three-game losing streak, which includes a devastating loss to the Texans on Sunday that all but killed Indy's hopes of winning the AFC South.
The Colts will be officially eliminated from the playoff race on Sunday if they lose to the Dolphins and the Texans beat the Titans, who will be playing without Marcus Mariota.
If the Colts lose in Miami on Sunday, there's a good chance we won't see Luck play again for the rest of the season. If Indy has been eliminated from playoff contention, there really wouldn't be any reason to risk playing Luck in the regular season finale if there's nothing on the line.
Besides the lacerated kidney, Luck has also been dealing with a partial tear of his abdominal muscle, which he also suffered against the Broncos.
Pagano didn't announce who would start in Luck's place against the Dolphins. Matt Hasselbeck has started for the past five weeks, however, there's no guarantee he'll start this week because he's "beat up from the feet up," according to Pagano.
If Hasselbeck can't go, then the Colts will hand their offensive reins to third-string quarterback Charlie Whitehurst.
