Colts owner Jim Irsay says Indy wanted Russell Wilson to backup Andrew Luck

The Indianapolis Colts selected quarterback Andrew Luck out of Stanford in 2012 and didn’t look back as they had their face of the franchise. However, the team wasn’t content with only Luck at the position as they also wanted a viable backup.

According to Colts owner Jim Irsay, Indianapolis had their sights set on bringing in Russell Wilson as well as Luck in the same 2012 NFL Draft. Irsay admitted this on 1075 the Fan.

“I know we were going take Russell Wilson the year we took Andrew in the fourth round, but he was gone in the third,” Irsay said. “We would have taken him, but that’s a long story.”

With Luck immediately turning around the franchise and leading them to the playoffs, Indianapolis made the right decision but would’ve been that much more dangerous with Wilson backing him up, especially considering the health issues Luck dealt with which ultimately forced him to retire early.

As for Wilson, the versatile quarterback lucked out by landing with the Seattle Seahawks. He’s already won a Super Bowl title and played in the big game twice at 31 and was in contention for the NFL MVP award this past season.

Unfortunately for Indianapolis, the team lost Luck to retirement and are currently looking for his successor with Jacoby Brissett not seeming like the answer Irsay and company are looking for under center. The Colts are now searching for a new leader on offense and could be active in trying to find that player in free agency with Tom Brady and Philip Rivers as potential targets.