GM Ballard won't let Luck retirement end Colts: 'It's our job to find answers'

Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard is determined not to let Andrew Luck's sudden retirement derail the reeling franchise.

"Just look at history," Ballard told Albert Breer of The MMQB. "It's funny, talking to (assistant GM) Ed (Dodds), John Schneider and Pete Carroll didn't walk in with Russell Wilson in the building."

Luck announced his retirement Saturday, citing mental and physical fatigue from his struggles to overcome injuries over the last four years. The former first overall pick walked away from the NFL after seven campaigns, a devastating blow to the Colts two weeks before the regular season.

Dodds, meanwhile, spent 10 seasons with the Seattle Seahawks before joining the Colts, and was a part of the front office that drafted Wilson in the third round. Wilson has since led Seattle to two Super Bowl appearances and one Lombardi Trophy.

"Ed talked about how they filtered through quarterbacks when they were there, and they found Russell," Ballard said. "It's our job to find answers. We have a lot of confidence, as an organization, as a group, that we'll find ways to win games. And that's what we have to do. That's our job."

Indianapolis appeared to have a budding powerhouse in the AFC with Luck set to lead a young, fiscally sound team. Without him, the Colts face a ton of uncertainty. They'll forge ahead with Jacoby Brissett, a free agent in 2020, at quarterback.

"This is a problem-solving league," said Ballard, who's entering his third year with the Colts. "Problems are presented to your team every day. And it's our job to figure out, scouting, coaching, organizationally, how to solve those problems."

Ballard noted head coach Frank Reich will tweak his offense to accommodate Brissett's skill set. The Colts have held Brissett in high regard since they acquired him in 2017, and at one point reportedly turned down a second-round pick for him in a trade proposal.

"Look, Andrew's a great player, and he's been a great Indianapolis Colt," Ballard said. "I'm not going to duck from that. Andrew means a lot to this organization, a lot to this city. But saying that, I think they all understand what the job at hand is. You deal with adversity and you move forward. You can't get into this mourning period where it affects you and takes your whole season down."