Philip Rivers responds to claim he contacted teams about comeback last season

Quarterback Philip Rivers has shot down a report that claimed he contacted the San Francisco 49ers and Miami Dolphins about coming out of retirement late this past season. 

"I heard from a couple of teams just kind of checking in," Rivers told Ben Thomas of AL.com. "I didn’t contact anyone, and I’m not going anywhere. I think maybe some teams, with some guys going down, may have been just looking for a contingency plan, but nothing came of it." 

NFL Network's Rich Eisen said during Monday's edition of the "Rich Eisen Show" that he heard during the NFL combine that Rivers had reached out to the 49ers and Dolphins when both clubs were dealing with injuries to quarterbacks before the playoffs. 

While Brock Purdy became a rookie sensation for San Francisco through the start of the NFC Championship Game, Miami was a one-and-done postseason side without Tua Tagovailoa.

Rivers retired after the 2020 season but reportedly made himself available for at least the New Orleans Saints in November 2021. It now sounds like the eight-time Pro Bowl selection is happy remaining a head coach at the high school level in Alabama, as he told Thomas that he thinks "the ship has sailed" on returning to the NFL at the age of 41. 

"I think in my mind in the last couple of years if a team had needed me, I might have had six or eight games left in me, but I’m not going into this fall thinking the same," Rivers added during his comments. "I think it’s done."  

One doesn't need to be a linguistics expert to read that Rivers didn't slam the door shut on possibly accepting a call if an advertised championship contender loses its starting quarterback between Thanksgiving and Christmas later this year. 

To steal from Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht, Rivers may have left just a flashlight on regarding a possible return, but it seems the light isn't completely out.