Published: July 30, 2008 12:29 pm         

BREAKING: Mystery of absent Colts defensive tackle Pitcock solved

TERRE HAUTE — The mystery surrounding the training camp absence of Indianapolis Colts defensive tackle Quinn Pitcock appears to be solved. According to a statement released to various media outlets late Tuesday evening by agent Brad Leshnock, Pitcock has decided to end his brief National Football League career after one season with the team.

“After much deliberation and careful thought, Quinn resolved to retire from the NFL. He notified the Colts of this decision last week. Quinn is grateful for the opportunity the Colts gave him, and he wishes his teammates and the whole organization nothing but the best going forward," the statement said.

Pitcock, who played collegiately at Ohio State, was the Colts' third-round draft pick in 2007. Team officials said today that they while they were aware of the defensive lineman's intention to quit, they wanted to give him time to think his decision over before moving on.

"Right now, Quinn is really thinking that he's not going to play. We're certainly going to leave the door open for him. I have been aware of people who have changed their minds (about retiring from an NFL career), so we're not going to shut the door. But right now, that's where he's sitting," Colts coach Tony Dungy said this morning.

"It feels like it's not something that he wants to do. And we've told him, 'Just take your time. And if you determine you want to come back, Quinn can be a good player for us.' But right now we're kind of thinking that's not going to be the case."

As a former player in the league, Dungy said that he can understand Pitcock's decision. But there's also the rest of the team to consider as well.

"It's a tough situation because we really felt like Quinn had things going for him. We were looking for him to be a very good player for us. But by the same token, football's a tough game. And you got to be into it 100 percent to play effectively. And if you're not, it's probably going to be detrimental to you and the team. You see both sides of it. Right now we're just going to let him relax and we'll move on," he said.

Team president Bill Polian is also taking a wait-and-see stance concerning Pitcock's future. Polian said today that the Piqua, Ohio native has not yet filed the necessary retirement papers with the league office. Until that happens, nothing is official as of yet.

Should Pitcock's retirement plans proceed, Polian added that the Colts will probably seek to recover two-thirds of his original signing bonus. "The question is whether the (NFL Players) union will agree to it. It's a drawn out process," he said.

See Thursday's Tribune-Star and on www.tribstar.com for complete coverage.