Possible Philip Rivers-Colts reunion is a wild, terrible idea

The Indianapolis Colts have reached desperation mode.

On Monday, NFL insiders Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport shared that the Colts, who have no healthy quarterbacks on the active roster following a disastrous Week 14 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars (9-4), are bringing in Philip Rivers — one of 26 players recently named a modern-era 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame semifinalist — in for a Tuesday workout.

"The head coach of St. Michael Catholic (AL) since 2021," Garafolo wrote in a follow-up social media post, "Philip Rivers signed a one-day contract this summer to retire as a member of the Chargers."

Possible Philip Rivers return to Indianapolis Colts has disaster written all over it

The Colts (8-5) have dropped four of their last five to go from a potential No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs to currently out of the postseason picture with four games remaining. On Sunday, Indianapolis not only lost in Jacksonville for the 11th consecutive year, 36-19, but also quarterback Daniel Jones, who suffered a season-ending torn Achilles.

His replacement, rookie sixth-rounder Riley Leonard, is dealing with a knee injury and unlikely ready to orchestrate a playoff push. Anthony Richardson, the No. 4 overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft, remains out after suffering an orbital fracture following a mishap involving a resistance band.

Rivers, 44, last played in 2020 for the Colts after spending his first 16 seasons with the Chargers. Indianapolis went 11-5, losing in the wild-card round to the Buffalo Bills that season, its last playoff appearance. Rivers was 369-of-543 (68%) for 4,169 yards, 24 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

It seems wild that at this point in the season, he could come in and stop Indy's downward slide. The Colts have a brutally tough schedule to end the season, with their final four opponents posting a combined .692 win percentage. In Week 15, Indianapolis travels to the Seattle Seahawks (10-3), who rank No. 2 in scoring defense (17.4 points per game) and No. 6 in total defense (288.2 yards per game).

The Colts also play the San Francisco 49ers (9-4), Jaguars and Houston Texans (8-5), all teams that rank in the top 10 in points allowed.

Indianapolis owes it to itself to explore all options in fixing a dire quarterback situation. But handing the keys over to someone who last played five years ago sounds like a preposterous, awful idea. It speaks to how bad things have gotten that the Colts may have few better options.