Philip Rivers wanted one more shot at winning that elusive Super Bowl ring, so at the age of 44 and as a Hall of Fame semi-finalist, decided to come out of retirement to re-join the Indianapolis Colts.
Just hours after team officials announced they had signed Rivers to the practice squad, the eight-time Pro Bowler told reporters he is eager to take his first NFL snaps since 2020 and hopes to start Sunday's crucial game at Seattle.
"Something about it excited me and it's kind of one of those deals, the door opens and you either walk through it and find out if you can do it or you run from it," he said. "I know there's risk involved, what may or may not happen, but the only way to find out is going for it."
While the exuberant Rivers has never been prone to backing down from a challenge, he's never faced one quite like this.
Rivers spent the past five years in Fairhope, Alabama, coaching St. Michael Catholic High School's football team. Yet his mind never strayed far from the NFL. He said he routinely watched the Los Angeles Chargers and Colts, the two teams he played for during his first 17 seasons, and was watching again last weekend when Daniel Jones suffered a season-ending torn right Achilles tendon injury in a 36-19 loss at Jacksonville.
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Rivers said he immediately wondered if the Colts might call.
At the time he was unaware, as were the Colts (8-5), that rookie backup Riley Leonard also injured his right knee during the game, creating even more urgency for a team flailing to keep its playoff hopes alive. Then the phone rang.
"He said, 'Heck yeah I'm interested,'" said Colts coach Shane Steichen, who worked with Rivers when they were both with the Chargers. "So he slept on it and then we called him back Monday morning and he said, 'I need to get up there and throw in that building.' So he came in here, and he didn't forget how to throw a football."
Steichen said it was possible Rivers could start Sunday - depending on how things go this week.
Rivers finished the first part of his career ranked among the league's career leaders with more than 63,000 yards passing, more than 400 touchdown passes and 134 career wins. He was the 2013 NFL Comeback Player of the Year, and he's been around long enough that the former N.C. State star was the key piece in the trade that sent two-time Super Bowl champion Eli Manning to the New York Giants in 2004.
While he's worked out and thrown at home, Rivers acknowledges there's a significant difference between what he's done and what it takes to successfully run a pro offense against one of the league's top defenses. And though Steichen said his playbook largely resembles the one he and Rivers used during their tenure with the Chargers, they must still navigate some new wrinkles.
"I don't know, just being honest," he said when asked about his current weight, drawing laughter. "It's not what it was when I walked away. I follow up with that, though, that I never ran away from anybody anyway."
Anthony Richardson, the No 4 overall draft pick in 2023, remains on injured reserve with a fractured orbital bone and Indy finally promoted veteran Brett Rypien from the practice squad to the active roster Wednesday. Rypien hasn't started a game since 2023.
The good news for Indy: Rivers does have some familiarity with players such as Jonathan Taylor, Michael Pittman Jr. and Quenton Nelson from his last stint in Indy.
And with Indianapolis closing the season against four potential playoff teams - Seattle (10-3), Jacksonville (9-4), San Francisco (9-4) and Houston (8-5) - they needed a steady hand to try to end a four-year postseason drought.
"Immediately the competitor in you, you get excited, like, 'Are you serious?'" Rivers said, referring to the phone call. "I know routes on air is not playing the position on Sunday afternoon, I do know that. But I don't have any reservations about going there and throwing and doing that stuff, it feels good. So we're going to take it one day at a time, but I'm excited. I feel good."
A damning indictment for the NFL's young quarterbacks?
Sky Sports NFL's Phoebe Schecter told the Inside the Huddle podcast: "Seeing Rivers coming back is so exciting for some people. It would be phenomenal if he was elevated to their active roster and manage to guide the Colts to a win.
"You can see why he has come back; it's why teams bring Joe Flacco back all the time, because you want someone who is trustworthy and someone who is going to give a bit of life offensively.
"The Colts are no longer able to rely on the defense like they used to, so you can see why he's come back.
"It says a lot that we cannot find anybody else in the league currently playing. What is the NFL doing, what does it say about development that the Colts would rather revisit history and bring back a quarterback that doesn't fit the modern-day mould anymore?
"We don't have the likes of Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger and Tom Brady, guys that stand in the pocket, so Rivers is a blast from the past. But we're probably not in a great spot with our young quarterbacks and their development."
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