Longtime Los Angeles Chargers QB Philip Rivers retired five years ago. Yet, somehow, he is expected to start at QB for the Indianapolis Colts this week.
Philip Rivers, who holds the Chargers franchise records for the most passing yards and the most passing TDs after spending 16 seasons with the team (14 as the Chargers starting QB), is back in the NFL and expected to be the starting QB for the Indianapolis Colts.
Before the start of this year, it was expected that Anthony Richardson would be the starting QB for the Colts. He was thought of as the future start that the franchise would be built around.
Instead, the Colts opted to give their starting job to Daniel Jones, who had been cut last season after six years with the New York Giants. He was maybe the most efficient QB in all of football this year as the Colts starter, but that ride came to and end when he broke his leg last week (an injury he decided to play through, in an accidental homage to Rivers) and then tore his Achilles on Sunday (probably because of his attempt to play through a broken leg).
Riley Leonard, a 6th round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft by the Colts, took over as the team's starting QB after Jones' Achilles injury. He reported a knee injury after the game was over, putting in doubt his ability to suit up next weekend.
Anthony Richardson, in case you were wondering, suffered a freak accident earlier this season during pregame warmups when a band snapped and drove a pole hard enough into his face to fracture his orbital bone. Head Coach Shane Steichen has said that Richardson will not be ready to suit up next week either.
So, Philip Rivers, this job is yours if you want it.
Rivers last played in the NFL in 2020, when he spent one season with the Colts after Andrew Luck's sudden retirement in 2019. The father of ten children, and grandfather(!), turned 44 years-old yesterday. He has spent his short-lived retirement as the head coach of the St. Michael Catholic Cardinals, a high school team in Alabama.
The last time we saw Philip Rivers was back in July, when he was signing a one-day contract with the Los Angeles Chargers so that he could retire with his original team.
There were tons of videos and events around the retirement, and I'd be curious to find out if he one day signs yet another one-day contract with the Chargers later or if he just retires as a member of the Indianapolis Colts.
I don't know what to expect from Rivers, who is the same age as Wes Welker and Troy Polamalu, when he gets back on an NFL field. I think it would be insane to think that he would be anywhere near the player he was in his prime. However, the Colts built an offense around Daniel Jones' strengths and weaknesses, so perhaps the results will be good enough for a win.