INDIANAPOLIS —Andrew Luck's road back from offseason shoulder surgery will bring his recovery into uncharted territory this week: an uncontrollable environment.
"Which is, obviously, football, to a certain degree," Luck told reporters on Thursday.
It's another step in the right direction for Luck, who practiced two days last week for the first time all year.
Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano confirmed Thursday that Luck will once again practice twice this week — on Thursday and on Saturday — but, this time around, he'll be tasked with taking a few snaps at quarterback for the scout team in 7-on-7 drills as the team prepares for Monday night's game against the Tennessee Titans.
"I think every step, at this point, is a substantial step," Luck said. "So I'm excited for that; excited to go out there today, and we'll see where it is."
Last week, Luck practiced on Wednesday — warming up with the other quarterbacks, doing some individual work and then throwing some routes to his receivers against air — before using Thursday as a rehab day, and then practicing the same routine on Friday.
This week, Luck takes a step forward in his practice workload. Pagano, who has already ruled Luck out of Monday's game against the Titans, said the quarterback will get "five, six snaps of 7-on-7, so it'll be Tennessee offense vs. our defense."
Pagano said Luck was eager to get out on the practice field this week and continue working towards the ultimate goal of returning to game action as soon as his recovery allows.
"I mean, if we let him, he'd suit up," Pagano said. "He'll have a specific route tree and pitch count, like he had last week. So it'll be scripted to fit what we've designated as those throws."
While Luck didn't want to provide an exact timeline of when he expects to return to game action — Pagano said once again on Thursday there's no set timetable — he said he's been encouraged by the progress he's seen out of his Colts teammates, who enter Monday's game with a 2-3 record.
For Luck, the recovery has changed his mindset each day, but he hopes it won't be long until his complete focus is back to winning football games.
"I know that when I come in the building every day, it used to be, 'How can I do my job well to make this team better?' Now it's, 'How can I make sure I give 100 percent to get myself better?'" Luck said. "And hopefully that sort of switch can flip at some point here."
