INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (WOWO): The NFL will investigate whether the Colts violated league rules by failing to disclose an injury to Andrew Luck.
Luck is expected to start again at quarterback tonight when the Colts play the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte. But when he missed two games to injury earlier this season, Fox Sports NFL reporter Jay Glazer says it was because Luck suffered broken ribs in the Colts win over the Tennessee Titans in week three, something that was not disclosed by the Colts. The team only said Luck had a shoulder injury that forced backup Matt Hasselbeck to start in the Colts' wins over Jacksonville and Houston.
Luck started and played each of the Colts last two games, home losses to the Patriots and Saints, and though he passed for more than 300 yards and three touchdowns in each game, his ancillary statistics have not been great.
Colts general manager Ryan Grigson issued a terse, two-sentence statement in response to the Fox report on Sunday. ““Our injury reports are accurate. If people have any questions about player injuries, they should refer to our injury reports,” the statement read.
The NFL's injury reporting rules appear to have little wiggle room for the Colts. “All players with significant or noteworthy injuries must be listed on the report, even if the player takes all the reps in practice, and even if the team is certain that he will play in the upcoming game,” the league’s policy regarding injury reports states. “This is especially true of key players and those players whose injuries have been covered extensively by the media.
This policy is of paramount importance in maintaining the integrity of the game.” Punishment for a violation could include fines, suspensions or a loss of draft picks. The Dallas Cowboys ran into a similar controversy last year when quarterback Tony Romo had a rib injury that the team did not disclose. However, the NFL did not punish the Cowboys because Romo's ribs were not broken and he did not miss any practice or game time.
The Colts problem also comes after Grigson was instrumental in starting the NFL's “deflategate” investigation of the Patriots over the use of under-inflated footballs in last season's AFC Championship game against the Colts. The league attempted to suspend Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, but his suspension was thrown out by a federal judge, a ruling currently under appeal by the NFL.
