Philip Rivers on Wednesday announced his retirement following an NFL career that will almost assuredly lead to his eventual enshrinement in Canton.
While Rivers’ play across 17 standout seasons is what will lead to his bust one day taking its proper place at the Pro Football Hall of Fame, one aspect of the fierce competitor’s on-field demeanor was Hall of Hame-caliber as well: a penchant for talking some serious smack to his opponents.
It’s well-known that Rivers abhorred profanity, and his trash talk was not as vulgar as what one might expect to hear on the NFL gridiron. In fact, one NFL superstar even amended his tribute tweet to acknowledge how Rivers was not a fan of cussing.
That does not mean, however, that Rivers was unrelentless in his willingness to lay it on thick when engaging players on the other side of the ball.
In honor of the legendary quarterback’s retirement and in celebration of his trash-talking prowess, NFL Films went to work and produced the definitive Philip Rivers trash-talking highlight reel.
Even with clocking in at over five minutes, the footage unearthed by NFL Films hardly provides for a complete compilation of Rivers’ gift of G-rated gab. Still, it’s about as it good as it gets at this point and a worthy tribute to Rivers.
Perhaps the folks at NFL Films HQ in Mount Laurel Township, N.J., will release Volume 2 when Rivers gets his expected Hall of Fame nod in a few years.
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