 Hello, and this certainly isn't how I envisioned this or planned this, but I am going to retire. This is not an easy decision, honestly, it's the hardest decision of my life. But it is the right decision for me. For the last four years or so, I've been in this cycle of injury pain rehab, injury pain rehab. And it's been unceasing and relenting, unrelenting both in season, both and off season. And I've felt stuck in it, and the only way I see out is to no longer play football. It's taken my joy of this game away, and this, sorry, I've been stuck in this process. I haven't been able to live the life I want to live, taking the joy out of this game. And after 2016, where I played in pain and was unable to regularly practice, I made a vow to myself that I would not go down that path again. I find myself in a similar situation, and the only way forward for me is to remove myself from football in this cycle that I've been in. I came to the proverbial fork in the road, and I made a vow to myself that if I ever did again, I would choose me in a sense. It's very difficult. I love this team. I love my teammates, the folks in our building, the fans, the game of football. And as part of this team, as a member of this team, and because of how I feel, I know that I am unable to pour my heart and soul into this position, which would not only sell myself short, but the team in the end as well. And it's sad, but I also have a lot of clarity in this. It's been a difficult process, but my wife, my family, my friends, Mr. Ballard, Mr. Uruse, the Uruse family, and Frank Reich have been incredibly helpful, supportive, and I'm so grateful for them. As I told the guys earlier in the locker room, it's been the honor of a lifetime to represent the horseshoe and the city of Indianapolis, both on and off the field. To Mr. Uruse and your family, thank you. Thank you so much. I am so grateful to have been drafted here. Their unwavering support is incredibly appreciated. I cannot fathom another owner who loves their team as much as you do, and we feel that as players. We appreciate that as players. It permeates through the building. And from the moment, and we talked about this earlier, but from the moment I arrived in Indianapolis, I felt like I could be myself, and I felt like I did not have to fill Peyton, one of the great of all times, I felt like I did not have to fill his shoes. I could be me. And I know that starts with the person up top, and for that, I'm very, very, very much appreciated. So many people to thank. So many people to thank. I think maybe fitting that Chuck was the coordinator for the opposing team tonight, because he had so many positive points and moments and such an impact on my life in BA as well, who's obviously not here tonight, but with Tampa, all my former coaches. But it did feel a little bit full circle walking out there tonight and being able to give Chuck Pagano a hug who provided so many great memories for me and Colts fans everywhere. Former teammates, there's a lot of guys I need to thank that I've played with that I'll get around to personally when the time is right. But I'd like to start with a couple guys that stand out. Robert Mathis, who quickly became and will always be my football hero. I love playing with him. I loved watching him play. He was as good a teammate as I've ever had. Reggie Wayne, what a thrill it was to throw to him. What a thrill it was to throw to you. I thank you for the incredibly positive impact you had on a young player in this league. So many wonderful guys like Joe Wrights, Jack Newhawk, so many great linemen that I had a chance to play with. And I was a part of some amazing quarterback rooms that helped me grow and become a man in this game. Clyde Christensen, who ran it for a while with Drew Stanton and Chandler Harnes, Shadi and Scotty Tolzine, especially Matt Hasselbeck. I know that was a great influence on me. I learned so much from all of you all. And so many of you all are lifelong friends. They are lifelong friends. And again, I'm much appreciated for that. So I'm going to take a moment. I think it's fitting that I'm in my retirement press conference in an athletic shirt. I know I look pretty ratty up here after games. So sorry, mom. I can't have a better appearance right now. There are so many people in the Colts organization that make it run that folks maybe don't know about, but they do an incredible job. Doug, Troy and the crew, Pete Ward, everybody in the cafeteria, Tex and the security staff, done an amazing job for me. Everyone in the scouting department on the personnel side or Todd Visfari and Matt Terpening picked me and a bunch of other Stanford guys up my rookie year from Indianapolis Airport and took me to Jason's Deli and Carmel for my first meal in Indianapolis as a Colt. And it was awesome. The training staff and the medical attention I've received here has been incredible. Bone doctor, E.B. Carey, Kyle, Marcus, Kea, Wally, all the doctors. The help and care has been top notch, especially in times that are tough, which is usually when you're seeing the doctor or the trainer. David Thornton, a simple thank you for your compassion. Matt Conti and the PR team. Matt, you have a vanquished job wherever you are and you do a great job at it. So thankful for you. Our strength staff, Rusty Rich, Zayn and Podell. I do feel like I'm missing folks in the building, but so many of you have helped me in so many ways and I'll have a chance to come say thank you and you know who you are. And then some folks out of the building, Tom, Willem, Yost and Karen. Thank you, thank you so much. My wife and I are so proud when people ask us where we're from, we say Indianapolis. It's our home, the support we felt here from lifelong friends, from the people that we love. The 500, this has been an incredible place to make a home and to grow. And many, many of my most fulfilling moments here off the field involve children. Riley camps around the state, getting a chance to be with kids and have fun, go into the hospital and having a chance to talk with parents and children. Reading the kids at schools, hanging out, Children's Museum, the wonderful things they do there. So a big thank you to this city. It's always will hold a special place in my heart. And I guess I'll transition to this current team and why it makes it so difficult, I guess, for me to stand up here and say I'm retired. It's a great group of men. It's a great group of guys. One that, a group that makes coming to work every day feel very, very special. And I feel incredibly lucky for that. And fans and people need to know about the men in that locker room. They're great, they're honest, they're real. There's no bigger fan of them than me. Chris Ballard, thank you. You know, I have so much respect and admiration for you. I've had a lot of tough conversations. I've learned so much from him, the honesty. It's incredible. Frank, so thoughtful, driven, kind. Again, I've learned so much. So there were times last year I'd have to pinch myself and say, is this for real? Or am I allowed to have this much fun on a football field? And that started with you. Nick Siriani and Marcus Brady, it's the same. Going to miss being with them every day. They're good people. All the rest of the staff, they make coming into work a joy and something that I certainly, certainly will miss. And coming back last year and playing, a lot of people had a lot of help me in a lot of ways. And they'll never know how important that was to me. And I'm, again, so, so appreciative. And my teammates, I feel so conflicted because of my love for these men. But it is clear to me that's what's best for this team is me, does not involve me. And I'd like to say a quick note about a few of them as we get towards the end here. But when I was a seven-year-old, my father drove me up to Amsterdam and I watched Adam Venetieri kick for the Amsterdam Admirals in NFL Europe. Then when I was in seventh grade, my father took me to the Super Bowl in Houston and I watched Adam Venetieri kick a game winner against the Carolina Panthers. And then, of course, my first win as a Colt involves Adam Venetieri kicking a game winner against the Minnesota Vikings. And I told him all this earlier today. I stand in awe of Adam Venetieri. He's a great man, a great teammate. And again, he's one of those guys. I'll tell my grandkids I got to play with him. The guys on the O-line, Brayden, Glow, Ryan, Q, Hagrid, LaRave, and Baymer, Josh, and, of course, Anthony. They've been a pleasure to play around. And there's so many more that I've played with in the past. But they were a big part of last year of being very special for me. Obviously, the success of the team. And I'm so grateful and appreciative to have had a guy like Anthony Costanzo be in the building from the day I walked in. Jacobi Bresset is an awesome dude. He's got a bright future. He's diligent, sharp, loves football. I hope I can continue to support him in different ways. I am so grateful for our friendship. On a personal, well, getting a little more personal, but coming back into the building early last year, I was very jealous and resentful of this fun, happy dude that was in my spot as a quarterback on this team. I obviously didn't have a lot of confidence in myself at that time either. But I could not have been more wrong. And he helped me grow in so many ways. He's a lifelong friend. He means so, so much to me. He's a big part of having one of the more rewarding years of my football life last year. I cannot wait to support him and see him lead this team. I am excited for the future of the Colts in large part because of Jacobi and also all the other men in that locker room. There's so many guys on offense and defense that have had a pleasure to play with. Clayton Gathers is, I love watching Clayton Gathers run around and play football. All the running backs and Rafi, the Titans. Eric Ebron was fun to play with. I'm so excited for his future. He's a great friend. Moe, Jack Doyle, Jackie Jack, and I have been through a lot together. I'm going to miss him a lot on the football field, but we're friends forever. And the rest of the guys, I have so, so, so much respect and love. And it runs so deep in me for them. And I hope they feel that because I know so many guys in that locker room have had such a significant impact on my life in so many, so many ways. And lastly, in terms of guys on this team, T.Y. Hilton. I had more fun throwing the football to T.Y. than should be allowed, probably. When I was away in 2017 for the latter half of the season, I had to figure out why I wanted to come back and play football. And I boiled it simply down to the fact that I like throwing the ball to my friends. And I love throwing the ball to T.Y. Hilton. He's the best football player I've ever played with. He's a better teammate than he is a football player. In conclusion, my folks who aren't here tonight, but mom, dad, mayor, Emily Yad, Uncle Will, all my friends. Thank you. And my wife, Nicole. Thank you. I love you. And I guess in a philosophical sense, I want to thank football for so many wonderful moments in my life and the pressure, circumstances, environment that pushed me to grow, learn, change, in so many meaningful ways. It's the greatest team sport in the world. And please, if you have questions, I'd like to ask them. Was this plan today to mention retirement? No, I'll be honest. I was going to tell my teammates after the game. And 3 PM tomorrow was going to talk to you guys. So this is actually the major. I mean, it's difficult. How long has it been building? You didn't wake up this morning and say, I had it. No, I didn't wake up this morning. A week and a half, two weeks. It's been a little bit fast and furious. And the lack of progress on my ankle. And I'm in pain. I'm still in pain. I've been in this cycle, which feels like, I mean, it's been four years of this injury pain rehab cycle. And for me to move forward in my life the way I want to, it doesn't involve football. What was the point? This was the tipping point. If not for this, you might be having a different conversation. Yeah, I guess the reality is I have this. And I've had had this. And so I don't know if tipping point, but it's shouldered in the ankle and this and this. And it's, yeah, I don't feel like I've lived the life. I can't live the life that I want to live moving forward with this, yeah. Is that first time retirement into your mind in a serious way? Yeah, a couple of weeks ago, a week and a half ago. Not even last year? No. How much of an emotional role has all of this taken on you? Yeah, I feel quite exhausted and quite tired. I do know once I hit the sort of point where I felt like I knew what I needed to do for myself and talked to Nicole and my folks and some close friends and family that, and then had some very difficult conversations with Mr. or, say, Frank and Chris. But it did feel like, in a sense, a weight was lifted then. But it's been tiring. I feel tired and not just in the physical sense. What was the final straw, Andrew? Was it after a workout? What was it you said? If you know what, I'm going to go home and sleep on this. I don't know if there was a final straw, per se. The lack of progress, I think, just built up and run into one. OK, turn the corner. OK, let's run into another stumble buck. Turn the corner. Turn the corner. And I can't remember if there was one thing that tipping point or final straw. But yeah, again, I feel so much clarity and, again, so grateful for the experiences and the positive times that I have had here. How do you know, say, a year from now when the ankle is finally healed, you won't want to come back here? I can't see the future. Zach, I'm not going to sit here and say it. But I very clearly in my mind see that I won't. It's not. Yeah. So you say, do you know what's going on with the ankle yet? It's a myriad of issues. And I, calf strain, posterior impingement, high ankle sprain, it's part of my journey going forward. We'll be getting out of pain and figuring out what's going on and how to feel better, obviously. So I don't have any definitiveness in my mind on it, and we'll continue working on that. It's going to be quite a timeline to deal with that if you continue playing. Yeah, I'm not. So it's like the ribs, the kidney, the shoulder, the ankle, the calf, all that over the years is what led us here to that. Is that correct? And I'd like to say too, this has been my personal journey in football, obviously. And everybody's journey is different. And over the past week, I'd sit and think, do I have a bunch of resentment towards this game or spite towards coming to this building? And I don't. All I feel is love for this game and love for my teammates and walking in. And I know my journey has had some ups and downs. And physically, it has taken its toll over the last four years. And that is why I'm here and in the mental and emotional toll that takes as well. But you never could have imagined walking away from football at the age of 29. Yeah, I'll be honest. I didn't imagine retiring. I didn't imagine retiring two weeks ago. But no, I didn't think of it in that way, no. Last Saturday on the field, what were your emotions coming off? Because you said you were out for two weeks. Did you think then you still were going to play this year? I had a good idea that it might. I thought that this might be my last time throwing on Lucas Oil as a current member of a Colts team. And it was Tomasawa made sure to go out and enjoy it. You've always been one of those people who took the blame on anything, whether it was an interception or whatnot and stuff. Did you ever try to say, all right, maybe I should try to play through this because I don't want to let those guys in the locker room down? That's a good question. And in 2016, after that season, which I played through some stuff, I made a vow to myself that I would never do that again. I got in not a good place. And I felt that the past week and a half, two weeks. And that's also a big part of why I'm here right now talking about this. You said that quite a few times, just in different references. And I mean, this game does require you to put yourself second, and often times, right? And I mean, just having to talk to a team first and elsewhere, which is what you have to do. Just how, when you've done all that you've done, and how were you able to reconcile all that? That's a tough calculation, I guess, to make some time. Did you ever, yeah, over the years, you know? Yeah, look, I, yeah. It's about the team. I got to put myself second, or just, you know? No, I wouldn't say. I never felt like, I guess in my mind, I never looked at it as me or the team, part of the team, and do my best for the team, and also do my best for myself, in a sense. But it's, I mean, it's the greatest team game in the world. I've loved being in that locker room. It's truly been the honor of a lifetime to suit up next to many of those guys, and that's part of what makes this very, very, very difficult. Andrew, would you like to have more? Not on a negative, but all that you've meant to the team and the city, and the stunningness of the decision. Any reaction to the fans? Did you hear the reaction of Walker on the field? Yeah, I'd be lying if I didn't say I heard the reaction. Yeah, it hurt. I'll be honest, Jeff, it hurt. Saw with the fact that you did get your fair chance, necessarily, in this field? You know what, yeah, I don't look. I certainly feel like I got my fair chance, and I'm very grateful for every snap that I got to take, and the lows, and learn from them, and the highs, and all the positive things that happened in this building, that I got to be a part of, so I don't hold any resentment, I guess, in that way. I do feel like I got a fair chance, and I tried to make the most of my chance, and right now, my journey just doesn't include football going forward, and I'm, again, so grateful to have. I'll feel like a cult forever. I know I will. I'm so grateful, again, for the Ursa family, for Frank, Chris, everybody in that locker room that I've got a chance to take the field with. It's truly been the honor of a lifetime, and I understand the suddenness, and maybe the surprise behind it, I really do. But I also know I have so much clarity about my next steps moving forward, and I'm so excited for this team. It's a great team. And your steps going forward is being a father. How much is that factored into this decision? Not really. I know it's a bit of an unusual situation, but how much do you anticipate you mention how much you love this franchise, how much they mean to you? Being around still, the season's about to start. What are your plans? Take a full backseat or do you plan on being around? I know. I'm friends with so many guys in this locker room, and I mean, we live here. Yeah, this is our home. So support the guys the way I can, and I certainly need to rehab and get feeling good. And yeah, I got some folks that I need to call and thank them. And it might be a late night on the phone and with some friends and some crying and laughing and some teammates. And I guess before I get off, I should also thank those of you who have covered me for most of my career, all of my career. I appreciate getting to come to work and talk to you guys right now and then. And yeah, I guess a small part of me will miss you as well. But thank you. I very much appreciate it. Mr. Orsay, Chris, Frank, Orsay family, thank you very much, appreciate it.