Why 49ers' Kyle Shanahan wanted Philip Rivers to reconsider return to NFL, Colts

44-year-old quarterback Philip Rivers hadn't taken an in-game snap since January 2021 before he returned to the Indianapolis Colts last week and then played in Indianapolis' 18-16 loss at the Seattle Seahawks in Week 15. 

Rivers is now on track to start when the 8-6 Colts host the 10-4 San Francisco 49ers on the night of Dec. 22. On Monday, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan revealed he spoke with Rivers last week when the signal-caller was chatting with San Francisco assistant coach Gus Bradley. 

Bradley was previously the Los Angeles Chargers' defensive coordinator when Rivers was playing for that club. 

Kyle Shanahan jokes about not wanting Philip Rivers to come out of retirement

"Gus just came down to my room, and got to talk to [Rivers] for a little bit," Shanahan explained, per the 49ers' website. "I was telling him how cool it would be [to come back], and then at about 10 seconds into it, I realized that we were playing against him in 10 days. So, I tried to kind of sway away from that and tell him how dumb it would be, but it didn’t work."

Rivers understandably looked rusty as he completed 18-of-27 passes for 120 yards with a touchdown against the Seahawks. His final pass of the game was intercepted with under 10 seconds remaining in regulation. 

Kyle Shanahan won't take Philip Rivers lightly

Shanahan kept in touch with Rivers during the 2022 season when quarterbacks Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo were sidelined with injuries. Rivers even participated in some 49ers install meetings via Zoom throughout that campaign. 

On Monday, Shanahan indicated he believes Rivers can still make enough plays with his arm to give the 49ers a tough matchup. 

"I think he’s capable of it," Shanahan added. "...I respect him as much as any quarterback I’ve ever studied. Just growing up over this last 20 years or whatever, what I admire the most is someone at that age to be able to come in there and want to play the right way, which is hanging in that pocket and taking some of those hits. That is something that gets very old fast to a lot of people. And for him to still have that toughness and that competitiveness, just, he’s not going to get into anything unless he’s all about it and 100-percent in. That’s why he made the decision, and that’s why I think he’s giving them a good chance to win and helping their team."

The 49ers would be a playoff team if the postseason tournament started ahead of Week 16. San Francisco currently trails the 11-3 Seattle Seahawks and the 11-3 Los Angeles Rams in the NFC West standings. Meanwhile, the Colts trail the 9-5 Houston Texans in the battle for the AFC's final wild-card playoff spot. 

As of Tuesday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Niners as 5.5-point road favorites over the Colts.