Colts' Philip Rivers confirms future plans after shocking return from retirement

Quarterback Philip Rivers had spent some of his retirement working as a head coach at the high school level before he shockingly returned to the Indianapolis Colts in December. 

The 44-year-old doesn't plan on extending his playing career any further. 

Why Philip Rivers won't continue playing

As Ryan Gaydos shared for Fox News Digital, Rivers confirmed on the latest edition of FanDuel TV's "Up & Adams" program that he intends to retire for good. The eliminated Colts (8-8) are starting rookie Riley Leonard for their season finale at the Houston Texans (11-5) this coming Sunday.

"I am (done)," Rivers explained. "I got a son who will be a senior, and I got that St. Michael football team ready to go. We got beat in the semifinals two years in a row. So, it’ll be his senior year. My second son will be a ninth grader. They’ll be on the same team together. So, it’ll be fun to get back with the boys back home. ...It’ll kick-start our offseason program, to say the least. Maybe the things I say to them, they’ll take it a little more seriously now that I was just out there playing." 

Colts head coach Shane Steichen reached out to Rivers when Leonard was dealing with a strained knee ligament after starter Daniel Jones suffered a season-ending torn Achilles tendon. Rivers hadn't played in an NFL game since he featured for the Colts during the 2020 season, but he once had Steichen as an offensive coordinator when the two were with the Los Angeles Chargers.

Rivers confirmed on Wednesday that he wouldn't have come out of retirement to play for any other team. 

"Everything just lined up," he said. "It was a place I’d been, a team I was familiar with, the offense was exactly the same. The coach I knew. It was all those things that made it kinda the perfect storm."

Philip Rivers sounds ready to walk away

Ultimately, Rivers lost all three of his starts as the Colts' once-bright season completely fell apart. In total, he passed for 544 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions over those outings. 

He appears to have no desire to remain an active player for an entire campaign. 

"I’m back to the sideline," Rivers added. "This was a fun three-week blur that nobody saw coming, including myself, and that will be it."