Andrew Luck Murky Injury Status Has Some Sportsbooks Pulling Colts Week 1 Game Against Chargers

Posted on: August 14, 2019, 02:25h. 

Last updated on: August 14, 2019, 04:03h.

Todd Shriber @etfgodfather Read More
Expertise: Financial, Gaming Business, Mergers and Acquisitions.

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck is working through an ankle injury, and with the team non-committal about the Pro Bowler’s status for the first week of the regular season, some sportsbooks are pulling the game against the Los Angeles Chargers from the board.

Colts quarterback Andrew Luck may not be available for Week 1 of the regular season. (Image: SI.com)

Luck, the NFL’s 2018 Comeback Player of the Year, threw for nearly 4,600 yards last year with 39 touchdowns and 15 interceptions after missing the 2017 season with a shoulder injury. Those yardage and touchdown totals were the second-best of Luck’s career. The Stanford product has recently been rehabbing a calf problem.

In the course of dealing with this calf injury, it appears that we’ve now got an ankle issue,” Colts General Manager Chris Ballard told reporters on Tuesday. “There’s no question that he had a calf (strain), that he has a calf, but the lower part is more of an ankle issue. Once we get that under control, we think we can help with the pain.”

Luck, who didn’t play in the Colts’ first preseason game, will be held out of the team’s remaining three exhibition contests. But Ballard wasn’t able to make a call on the quarterback’s availability for the first week of the regular season.

As a result, DraftKings Sportsbook pulled the Colts/Chargers game from the board.

Other Moves

The Chargers are listed as three-point favorites against the Colts for the match up in Los Angeles. While some sportsbooks did not pull the game, they did up the juice for bettors taking the Chargers. The Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas and FanDuel moved the odds on the Chargers to -120 from -110, meaning bettors will need to wager $120 to win $100 if they put action on the favorite.

The over/under for the game has not yet changed, remaining at 47.5 to 48, depending on the sportsbook. The Chargers finished 12-4 in the 2018 regular season, with three of those four defeats coming at home. Including the teams’ two playoff games, Los Angeles was 10-8 against the spread during the 2018 season, while Indianapolis was 9-8-1.

If Luck is unavailable for the Colts to start the regular season, Jacoby Brissett would likely get the starting nod.

“Look, I understand the importance of Andew Luck,” said Ballard. “Are you kidding me? This guy’s one of the top five quarterbacks in the league. But we also got another quarterback we like in Jacoby Brissett.”

Other Factors To Consider

If it becomes official that Luck can’t go against the Chargers, it’s almost certain sportsbooks will adjust the line of -3. Heading into the 2018 season, Luck was viewed as a “Tier 3” quarterback, meaning his value was four to five points to the spread, according to The Action Network.

However, a recent survey of 55 NFL coaches and executives indicates Luck is now a “Tier 1” player at his position, as is his Chargers counterpart, Philip Rivers. A “Tier 1” player’s value to an NFL spread can range from six to 7.5 points.