INDIANAPOLIS -- Indianapolis Colts quarterback Matt Hasselbeck didn’t sound like a player certain he’d return for an 18th NFL season when he stood in the locker room in Miami earlier this week with a sling on his right arm after suffering a shoulder injury.
Hasselbeck, who is doubtful for Sunday’s game against the Titans, admitted having the thought of last week being his final NFL game as he walked off the field at Sun Life Stadium.
“Maybe because I’ve had to answer the question so many times it did dawn on me that, ‘Hey, if I’m not able to play next week, what if that was the last time I played. What if?’” Hasselbeck said. “I don’t know, I really don’t feel like anything has changed in my mind. I think it’s going to be one of those things when the season is over, sit down and think about it and evaluate it. It has been a little bit of a different season.”
If this season is truly Hasselbeck’s final one, it was a memorable one. He spent his first two years with the Colts getting mop-up snaps behind starter Andrew Luck.
But things changed this season.
Hasselbeck was one of the feel-good stories of the league after he won his first four starts in place of the injured Luck. Then Hasselbeck lost three straight and suffered more injuries than he could count. But through it all, he has no regrets. Hasselbeck’s body took a pounding, and up until his latest injury he routinely pulled his 40-year-old body off the ground. He went 156-for-256 for 1,690 yards with nine touchdowns and five interceptions this season.
“I’ve learned a lot about myself and just I need to be able to train during the season,” Hasselbeck said. “If I get an injury where I’m not training or lifting, then I’m not doing all the things I need to do. Then I think it hurts me. Have to look at everything. There’s a lot to look at and we’ll see.”
Hasselbeck said he’ll make the final call on his future, but he definitely values what his family has to say.
“They want to win,” he said. “If we don’t win the Super Bowl this year they’ll be very upset. All my kids, they believe wholeheartedly we still have a chance to win the Super Bowl this year.”