Former NFL quarterback Andrew Luck makes a shocking return to football

Former Colts quarterback Andrew Luck is making a shock return to football, it has been reported.

The Pro Bowl quarterback, now 35, surprised the NFL in August 2019 when he walked away from the league after just seven seasons.

But he is now ready to return to high-level football as the GM of his alma mater, the Stanford Cardinal, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

Luck, who starred at Stanford from 2009 to 2011, will be placed ‘across the program’ in his role, overseeing coaching, player personnel, recruiting and more.

The two-time Heisman Trophy runner-up will also have various business commitments, such as fundraising and sponsorships, according to Thamel.

Andrew Luck, seen in 2023, is returning to Stanford as the football program’s general manager

He walked off the field during a 2019 preseason game when a report of his retirement surfaced

Luck had used two seasons as a volunteer assistant coach at Palo Alto High School, but this role at Stanford marks his first job with a college or NFL team since hanging up his cleats.

He is considered a legend at Stanford as he is the program’s all-time leader in touchdown passes and led the team to a 23-3 record during his final two years there.

However, the Cardinal just finished its second straight 3-9 season, and Luck told ESPN that Stanford had been ‘slow to the draw’ to adapt to changes in college sports like the NIL and the transfer portal.

“I am very grateful for what football has given me,” he said.

‘In many, many ways on many, many levels. Stanford is one of the deeper levels. There’s something about it, especially the people there. This will be a daunting challenge. It’s a steep climb. But I’m turned on.’

Luck walked away from the NFL after often battling through injuries, including a shoulder problem that cost him the entire 2017 season.

He appeared to return for an eighth season in 2019 before walking off the field during a preseason game (in which he did not play) after a report of his impending retirement surfaced.

Luck would retire that night, telling reporters it was “the hardest decision” of his life.

“I haven’t been able to live the life I want to live,” he said at the time. ‘Took the joy out of the game and after 2016, when I was playing in pain and unable to train regularly, I made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t go down that road again. I find myself in a similar situation and the only way forward for me is to remove myself from football and this cycle that I have been in.’