Andrew Luck says he was happy about taking 'a legit sack' from Terrell Suggs

Monday night marked Andrew Luck's second appearance on an NFL field for a real game since the final regular-season game of the 2016 season.

Luck had shoulder surgery early last offseason and, while the Colts kept insisting that he'd return at some point during the 2017 campaign, he instead did not get back on the field at all. He's been slowly ramping up his activity throughout the offseason and training camp, and Tuesday was the latest step.

While Luck, who completed just 6 of 13 passes for 50 yards and an interception (he's now 12 of 22 for 114 yards and a pick through two preseason games), was not satisfied with his actual performance during the game, he was happy about one thing: being sacked. Luck was taken to the ground by Ravens pass-rusher Terrell Suggs early in the second quarter, but he hopped right back up and headed to the sideline.

"I told someone after the game, 'I'm sort of happy to get sacked by Suggs, a legit sack,'" Luck said, per ESPN's Mike Wells. "I landed on my right elbow sort of reminiscent of how I injured my shoulder a couple of years ago. I didn't feel anything. Didn't give it a second thought. That's a big deal for me, being able to lose that thought bubble."

Luck still has some steps to take before he gets back to being the quarterback who led the Colts to the playoffs in each of his first three seasons, but being able to take hits from top-flight pass-rushers and shake it off as a natural occurrence of playing the position is a positive sign. Luck is sure to take a bunch of sacks during the regular season, as every quarterback does, but he can't be skittish about being hit or going to the ground if he's to get back in the rhythm of playing the way he did prior to his injury.

The Colts have upgraded the offensive line quite a bit since Luck last played in a real game so maybe he won't have to take quite as many hits as he did early in his career, when he was among the most-pressured quarterbacks in the NFL every season.

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