Philip Rivers’ decision to retire earlier this year didn’t necessarily surprise many folks around the NFL.
The borderline future Hall of Famer spent each of his first 16 seasons with the Chargers in Southern California before joining the Indianapolis Colts last season. Rivers had made it clear that he was nearing retirement and wanted to transition into a coaching role in high school football.
Now with the 2021 NFL season slated to get going, Philip Rivers tells Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times that he’s open to returning to the gridiron to help some team late in the campaign.
“Spent the first half of the day with Philip Rivers who assures me that, while he’s focused on coaching high school football now, he isn’t closing the door on coming back for a stint late in the season if there’s an NFL team that needs him,” Farmer reported on Tuesday.
Rivers, 39, was pretty darn solid for the Colts a season ago. He completed 68% of his passes for 4,169 yards with 24 touchdowns against 11 interceptions en route to leading them to a playoff appearance.
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Once Rivers announced his retirement, Indianapolis acquired Carson Wentz in a blockbuster trade with the Philadelphia Eagles. Unfortunately, Wentz is now sidelined indefinitely with a foot injury he suffered during training camp. In his stead, Jacob Eason is favored to be Indianapolis’ starting quarterback.
Could this potentially mean that Philip Rivers is headed back to the Indianapolis Colts? Based on Farmer’s reporting, that seems unlikely until late in the season. Indianapolis would also have to find itself in playoff contention in order for this to come to fruition.
An eight-time Pro Bowler, Rivers has amassed over 63,000 yards with 421 touchdowns and 209 interceptions throughout his career. If the former first-round pick is serious, some contending team might show interest late in the season.
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