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Colts Announce Phillip Rivers' Future NFL Move After Seahawks Loss

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Paolo Songco | Last updated Dec 15, 2025 4:36 PM ET

Philip Rivers made his highly anticipated debut for the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. The 44-year-old came out of retirement following the season-ending injury to quarterback Daniel Jones, and Rivers played in his first game back for the Colts after nearly five years away from the NFL.

Rivers’ incredible comeback was not enough to carry Indianapolis to victory, though. The eight-time Pro Bowl quarterback finished with 18-of-27 completed passes for 120 yards, one touchdown and one interception as the Colts suffered an 18-16 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

On Monday, Indianapolis head coach Shane Steichen spoke to reporters to make an announcement about Rivers’ status moving forward following his performance against the Seahawks.

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Philip Rivers (17) runs off the field after a win against the Tennessee Titans.Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images

Rivers, the No. 4 overall pick of the 2004 NFL Draft, played 17 years before retiring in 2020. He spent 16 seasons with the San Diego Chargers before playing his final season with the Colts in 2020.

Indianapolis decided to turn to the former Comeback Player of the Year after they lost Jones to a season-ending Achilles injury in Week 14. With third-year QB Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis’ fourth-overall pick in 2023, still recovering from an orbital injury, the Colts decided that the best path of action was to bring Rivers back out of retirement.

Steichen was impressed by what he saw from Rivers in the latter’s second NFL debut on Sunday. So much so, that the Colts head coach announced on Monday that he plans to start Rivers at center again in their next game. Rivers will keep his role as Indianapolis’ QB1 when the team returns to action in Week 16 against the San Francisco 49ers.

Rivers beat out rookie quarterback Riley Leonard for the starting role against the Seahawks on Sunday, and this will once again be the case for Rivers, the first grandfather to play in NFL history, against the Niners next week.

The Colts fell to 8-6 after Sunday’s loss to the Seahawks. According to the NFL Playoff Picture prediction model, they still have a 17% chance of making the playoffs. They head into their next game third in the AFC South and eighth in the conference. Indianapolis has three games left in the regular season, including Sunday against the Niners.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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