When Philip Rivers stepped out of the phone booth this week, it wasn’t because the Indianapolis Colts expected him to don his superhero gear.
It’s because that’s how he actually had to take the call.
OK, OK. Dad jokes and low-hanging fruit aside, Rivers’ head-turning return to the NFL has set up incredible theater. The 44-year-old high school coach, who last played in 2020, joined the Colts’ practice squad this week with the goal of being promoted to the active roster to start the final four games of the season.
The Colts were already reeling Sunday when quarterback Daniel Jones tore his Achilles, and they’ve tasked Rivers with the movie script. They’re the AFC’s No. 8 seed, on the wrong side of a tiebreaker with the Houston Texans, and the Colts have the most difficult remaining strength of schedule (.692) in the NFL with games against the Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers, Jacksonville Jaguars and Texans.
After losing four of five, including three in a row, that would have been an improbable challenge for a healthy Jones, let alone Rivers.
“Fun story,” said an executive who was granted anonymity so he could speak openly, “but I think it’s going to be a disaster.”
The Athletic asked nine coaches and executives around the NFL if there was any realistic upside to the move. Three settled on the notion Rivers must have been better than the alternative, while the rest were skeptical — at best.
Rivers is sixth all-time with 421 passing touchdowns and seventh with 63,440 yards, so he’s better equipped than most to handle such a challenge. He was also one of the most cerebral quarterbacks of his generation, and he’ll need that in spades to offset any physical deterioration.
One coordinator used Aaron Rodgers as a barometer. The 42-year-old Pittsburgh Steelers QB hasn’t been on top of his game since 2021, and his drop in performance over the past two seasons has been as stark as ever.
To be completely fair, Rodgers also tore his Achilles in 2023, so it’s not a perfect comparison. But the four-time MVP was in a different class than Rivers during their respective primes and has played every game since his return in 2024, and he still can’t ward off Father Time.
Deshaun Watson is another example. The Cleveland Browns quarterback missed a year and a half, including an 11-game suspension, due to allegations of sexual assault and misconduct, and he’s never looked like the same player who was a rising star during his first four seasons with the Texans. The time away completely changed Watson’s trajectory, even though he returned at age 27.
Rivers, a father of 10 whose eldest daughter is older than Colts rookie running back DJ Giddens, practiced Wednesday for the first time in nearly five years alongside a roster of teammates who were literally in midseason form. Colts coach Shane Steichen said Wednesday that Rivers needs to get back into football shape, while the QB himself joked that while he is carrying more weight than he did in 2020, “I ain’t ever run away from anybody anyway.”
While that may be true, he’s still well behind the curve.
Consider the importance of a six-week training camp and preseason — how the savviest of veterans discuss the increase in intensity from practices in shorts to full pads, from joint practices to exhibition games to the regular season. Consider how players admit they aren’t in shape to play a full game until they’re at least a couple of games into the season.
For years, Rivers has missed it all. There’s been no ramp-up period to warm the soft tissue. He hasn’t taken part in months of installation work with the rest of the team, instead now focusing on game plan-specific practices. And Rivers’ recall of Steichen’s terminology from their time together with the Chargers is a reasonable start, but not a cheat code.
Although they’ve stayed in regular communication since then, Steichen’s offense has evolved since they last worked side-by-side in 2019, just like the defenses Rivers will face. Three of the four defensive architects on the Colts’ remaining schedule were position coaches in 2019, so Rivers won’t have a lot of institutional knowledge of his opposition. Not to mention, all four defenses are ranked in the top 11 of points allowed, including the No. 1 Texans and No. 2 Seahawks.
“Looking at their schedule, it’s not going to work,” a second executive said. “They have a tough road with really good defenses. Philip is a sitting duck.”
Meanwhile, Rivers was losing arm strength in 2020, according to those who played against or studied him. But even giving Rivers the benefit of the doubt that time away could heal old wounds with the arm, how about his legs? It’s going to be a massive undertaking to maneuver around the pocket, particularly vaulting forward to avoid the rush, after being out of the game for so long. And when his legs are dead in the fourth quarter, it’ll be exponentially more difficult.
And again, it’s not like he’d be facing a bad, average or even a good defense. If he plays this Sunday, he’ll be taking on a Seahawks defense ranked fourth in sacks. Rivers is going to have to endure hits from guys like Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy, then recover in a week to do it all over again.
This past summer, he told “The Dan Patrick Show” that he believed he could still “get through a game,” but “I may need a wheelchair the next morning.”
The Colts can aid Rivers’ cause with their solid offensive line and league-leading rusher Jonathan Taylor, but those aren’t impenetrable forces, as evidenced by the unit’s diminished production in recent weeks. Taylor averaged 65.5 rushing yards per game during the Colts’ four losses since Week 9, 56.1 yards fewer than his other games. That coincided with a stretch when Jones’ mobility was also hampered by a fibula injury.
But the Colts had to find someone to play the position, and apparently felt more confident in Rivers than rookie Riley Leonard, who is dealing with a knee injury after playing well Sunday in relief of Jones. Brett Rypien, who’s been with the team since October, was the other in-house option.
Both the Colts and Rivers deserve at least some admiration for trying. The team shattered expectations this season by winning seven of its first eight games, which prompted the blockbuster trade for cornerback Sauce Gardner, so they aren’t content to give up. After all, they haven’t been to the playoffs since Rivers’ final season in 2020.
And then there’s Rivers himself, who once played through a torn ACL in a valiant attempt to slay the undefeated New England Patriots in an AFC Championship Game. The eight-time Pro Bowler certainly could have chosen the safer option of watching the final month of the season on the couch, and no one would have given it a second thought.
But he joined the Colts anyway, with skepticism abound around the NFL.
Rivers’ return came with a dose of disbelief. But for this to truly work out, for Rivers to actually guide the Colts to the playoffs, well, that might be truly unbelievable.
