The recent retirement of quarterback Andrew Luck truly puts into perspective of the toll some NFL gunslingers go through. The list of injuries put on the former first overall pick are too much for some players to endure, from concussions and torn labrums to torn rib cartilege and lacerated kidneys. It's not surprising that he retired before the age of 30.
But it isn't all due to injuries for him leaving the game so early. A lot of it was due to poor management in keeping the quarterback safe and building around him correctly. He wasn't given a helpful front office for him until the 2018 NFL offseason when they got Chris Ballard at general manager and Frank Reich at head coach. Luck was given an offensive line that could protect him and additional targets for the passing game. Not to mention a defense that wouldn't let him play from behind liek he was in the early part of his career.
Unfortunately it wasn't enough as the ailments had taken over. He came away with only six seasons of play to show for his career. A mark far below the usual average for a first-round quarterback of his caliber.
It's a warning to other teams that aren't protecting their franchise quarterback the way that they should. And with that in mind, there could be some quarterbacks that are on the same path as Luck. Here are three quarterbacks that are at risk of early retirement like Andrew Luck.
1. Cam Newton
At age 30, Cam Newton has carved out an impressive career in his own right. Right out of the gate, he had one of the best rookie seasons by a quarterback in the history of the league. He earned Offensive Rookie of the Year honors for completing 310 of his 517 passes for 4,051 passing yards and 21 touchdowns to 17 interceptions. While also coming away with 706 rushing yards and 14 rushing touchdowns.
He's continued to produce and is already the best quarterback in his franchise's history. He's come away with three Pro Bowls, one All-Pro selection, and getting the 2015 Offensive Player of the Year and MVP awards. How many other quarterbacks can say that they have more rushing yards than Steve Young and the same passer rating as Dan Marino?
Unfortunately enough, the years of Newton's playing maybe numbered. The injuries he's accrued during his time in the league is terrifying to see. Ligament tears in his ankle to fractures to his ribs are just some of the areas that have hurt him in his time. But the most glaring of the injuries to him is his throwing shoulder. He's had to undergo anthroscopic surgery to it during the offseason and it's something that has hampered him since 2016.
The Panthers have given him little to no protection for him throughout his time in the league. Plus with the play style that Cam Newton uses, it's not going to help him for his long term future. He continues to endure the most hits out of all quarterbacks in the league. And with the way that the league deals with the hits that he takes, it could mean early retirement for Superman.
2. Carson Wentz
Wentz's legacy and career would be so much different if it weren't because of the injury bug. His injury history dates back to his senior year of college when he suffered a fracture to his wrist on his throwing arm. And ever since Carson Wentz got to the league he's been hampered with serious injuries that have taken time out of his career.
- Wentz suffered a hairline fracture to his ribs in preseason of his rookie season and had to miss all of preseason. He still played all 16 of the regular season games through the rib injury.
- The next season he was having a meteoric rise and was likely to win MVP until he tore his ACL and LCL in the 13 game of the season. He missed the last three weeks of the regular season and all of the playoffs where the Eagles won their first Super Bowl with Nick Foles at QB.
- Carson Wentz missed the first two games of 2018. He would start the next 11 games of the season before having his season shut down because of a fracture to his vertebrae.
The FCS product has the talent to become something special from what he's shown in his lone Pro Bowl season in 2017. And since the second year of his career, he's put together some of the best numbers over the course of the last two seasons. Amongst quarterbacks that have played at least 24 games in the last two seasons, Wentz has the third-best passer rating at 102.0. Only Drew Brees and Russell Wilson have a better passer rating than him.
He's in a good situation in Philadelphia now with the pieces around him. However, he needs to keep himself healthy. Otherwise he's headed for early retirement.
This season is going to be one that will test Deshaun Watson as a quarterback. Not only is he going to be protected by one of the worst offensive lines in the league, but his defense is likely going to be losing Jadeveon Clowney to a trade. And something that a quarterback can't afford is his defense becoming stagnant and losing critical pieces.
Even worse, his leading running back Lamar Miller is out for the year with a torn ACL. His running game is going to take a significant hit with Miller suffering a torn ACL. And without the threat of a reliable running back, defenses are going to be crowding the box a lot more in 2019. They'll likely start the season with Duke Johnson, who's known more for being a receiver out of the backfield.
Speaking of torn ACL's, Watson already has two since his sophomore year at Clemson. That's correct, two.
The last thing the Texans want to do to their franchise quarterback is allow him to be setup to fail. It's something that the Colts did to Andrew Luck in the first part of his career, and the Texans are likely going to be following that same pattern. And a lot of this is due to poor management at the top.
The team went with head coach Bill O'Brien over last year's GM Brian Gaine. And because of this, it's a make or break season for the head coach, and in that type during the offseason the've done nothing to help out Deshaun Watson.
This could be the start to a very rough period for Deshaun Watson. This is something that hurt Andrew Luck's longevity for his career, and the same could happen for the former Clemson Tiger.
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