Even though the Steelers already defeated the Colts this year, there’s one implication of Philip Rivers’ return that makes Pittsburgh’s current quarterback smile.
“Well, I’m not the oldest guy in the league — love that,” Aaron Rodgers said Thursday, via Brooke Pryor of ESPN.
At 44, Rivers has two years on Rodgers, who turned 42 earlier this month.
“It’s pretty incredible, though,” Rodgers said of Rivers’ return to the Colts this week. “He’s been out for, I believe, four full seasons, plus this part of this season. I was laughing because a couple of my buddies hit me up asking what I would do in that situation, and I said without missing a beat, ‘I’m retired, I’m staying retired.’ So, big credit to Phil.”
Rodgers was drafted a year after Rivers in 2005. The two didn’t have many battles during their time with the Packers and Chargers, given that they played in different conferences. But Rodgers noted he’s long admired Rivers’ game from afar.
“I’ve been a fan of his forever,” Rodgers said. “I’ve known him a little bit over the years. I’ve just loved the way that he competes, plays. Again, not the most gifted player, but cerebral as all get out. Hilarious trash talker. I wish him nothing but the best. I’ve been a fan of his for a while, and I hope he goes out and it’s just like riding a bike and he can jump right back in the saddle — and I expect him to.”
Colts Clips
Las Vegas isn’t buying the Philip Rivers career resurrection.
The 8-5 Colts are 13.5-point underdogs against the 10-3 Seahawks on Sunday.
That’s not entirely an indictment against the 44-year-old Hall of Fame finalist, whose waiting period will reset to zero if/when he’s added to the active roster. The Seahawks are currently playing at a very high level, outscoring the Vikings and Falcons by a combined score of 63-9. Seattle also has allowed no touchdowns over the past two games.
Overall, the Seahawks have won three in a row and seven of eight. The Colts, after starting 7-1, have lost four of five.
The Colts immediately pivoted to Rivers after losing starter Daniel Jones for the rest of the year with a torn Achilles tendon. They had not added a veteran backup after losing backup Anthony Richardson to a fractured orbital bone prior to a Week 6 game against the Cardinals.
However it plays out, the notion that the Colts are pinning their hopes to a 44-year-old grandfather who hasn’t played in nearly five years was on no one’s bingo card. Including those of the bingo-playing grandfathers.
The Colts haven’t named a quarterback for Sunday’s game against the Seahawks yet, but it doesn’t look like Riley Leonard’s knee soreness is going to rule him out of the running for the start.
Leonard was listed as a full participant in practice for the second straight day on Thursday. Leonard replaced Daniel Jones in last Sunday’s loss to the Jaguars and was in line to start coming out of that game.
Head coach Shane Steichen shared news of the knee soreness on Monday, however, and the Colts signed Philip Rivers to their practice squad to give themselves another option for Week 15.
Cornerback Sauce Gardner (calf), wide receiver Anthony Gould (foot), right tackle Braden Smith (concussion, neck), and defensive tackle Grover Stewart (rest) missed their second straight practice. Defensive tackle DeForest Buckner (neck) and defensive end Tyquan Lewis (ankle) were limited participants. Wide receiver Josh Downs (ankle), linebacker Zaire Franklin (knee), cornerback Jaylon Jones (back), and wide receiver Alec Pierce (rib) have been full participants.
The Colts stunned the football-following world with their phone call to 44-year-old Philip Rivers. Cam Newton, who is eight years younger than Rivers, wonders why he didn’t hear from Indy.
On his 4th & 1 podcast, Newton called the Colts’ failure to contact him “a slap in my face.”
Newton last played in the NFL in 2021, finishing the season with the Panthers. Rivers last played in 2020.
At one level, Newton has a point. If the Colts were willing to dust off a literal grandfather in an effort to salvage the season, why not at least reach out to see whether Newton would be interested in trying out? (The Colts tried out Seth Henigan, an undrafted free agent in 2025, along with Rivers.)
Indeed, Newton has never retired. He never signed a one-day contract with the Panthers, ceremonial or otherwise.
“I did not,” Newton said, “and will not, because of an opportunity like this.”
At another level, it appears that Rivers became the Colts’ intended emergency option after Anthony Richardson landed on injured reserve and the Colts didn’t trade for a veteran backup to Daniel Jones. Given Rivers’s knowledge of the offense and his extended history with head coach Shane Steichen, it made sense for the Colts to tell Rivers to stay ready for a potential bat signal, in the event Jones suffered a season-ending injury.
Still, some would say Newton is far closer to Batman than Rivers. Unless Rivers rips it up right away, it will be fair to wonder if someone else (like Newton) would have been a better choice.
Quarterback Sam Ehlinger had a chance to join the Colts’ active roster. He decided to remain on the Broncos’ practice squad.
Ehlinger told Parker Gabriel of The Denver Post that he spent 48 hours weighing his options after Daniel Jones tore his Achilles on Sunday.
“We’re really happy here and enjoy the organization, the path we’re on and what we’re building,” Ehlinger told Gabriel. “I want to be part of that.
“I was in Indianapolis for four years, and I love everybody over there. It’s just a difficult situation, obviously.”
The Colts made Ehlinger a sixth-round pick in 2021, and he spent his first four seasons in Indianapolis. He started three games in 2022.
The Colts had hoped to sign both Ehlinger and Philip Rivers. They ended up with only Rivers.
Ehlinger will make the league minimum $1.17 million for a fifth-year player because he was on the active roster for Week 1 this season.
If Philip Rivers does end up playing for the Colts on Sunday, it may not be out of pure necessity.
The Colts listed rookie quarterback Riley Leonard as a full participant in Wednesday’s practice.
Leonard is dealing with a knee sprain suffered during Indianapolis’ loss to Jacksonville on Sunday. But he was at least healthy enough to take his usual reps to start the practice week.
Leonard entered the season as the Colts’ QB3 behind Daniel Jones and Anthony Richardson, both of whom are now on injured reserve.
A sixth-round pick out of Notre Dame, Leonard has completed 18-of-31 passes for 145 yards with an interception in his two appearances.
With Rivers on the practice squad, his practice participation level does not have to be reported. So, it’s unclear how many practice reps he took and with what unit.
Elsewhere on the injury report, cornerback Sauce Gardner (calf), receiver Anthony Gould (foot), defensive end Tyquan Lewis (ankle), and offensive tackle Braden Smith (concussion/neck) all did not practice on Wednesday.
Receiver Josh Downs (ankle), receiver Alec Pierce (rib), linebacker Zaire Franklin (knee), and cornerback Jaylon Jones (back) all were full participants.
It’s currently unclear whether or not 44-year-old Philip Rivers will start at quarterback for the Colts when they play the Seahawks on Sunday.
But as Seattle’s head coach, Mike Macdonald has to prepare for whatever comes.
Macdonald told reporters on Wednesday that he’s expecting Rivers to play, but the club will be prepared for Riley Leonard and Brett Rypien as well.
“It’s the NFL, man. Every week is different. Finally we had something kind of crazy happen this year that wasn’t expected,” Macdonald said, via Gregg Bell of The News Tribune. “If anybody can pull it off, it’s him. The guy’s probably one of the best competitors in the history of the NFL. I’m sure he wouldn’t do it if he didn’t feel like he was ready. So, we’re getting ready for him like he’s been playing the whole time.”
There’s an obvious challenge in trying to prepare for a quarterback who hasn’t played in five years. Macdonald termed the process “tricky.”
“Do you overthink it? Do you go back and watch some of the stuff before he retired?” Macdonald said. “You’re obviously going to go off a lot of what they’ve done this year.
“So, at the end of the day, we’ve got to go play football. We’ve got to make sure we’re on our stuff and we’re ahead of plays and we’re playing our style of ball.”
We’ll see how the week unfolds and if the Seahawks do, in fact, end up playing Rivers on Sunday.
On the same day the Colts gave a tryout to 44-year-old quarterback Philip Rivers, they also worked out a quarterback literally half his age.
22-year-old free-agent Seth Henigan had a tryout on Tuesday, per the league’s daily transaction report.
Henigan was undrafted out of Memphis in April. He spent time with the Jaguars during the offseason and training camp. Released from the Jacksonville practice squad in September, Henigan had a tryout last week with the Falcons.
It’s one thing to lose out to another journeyman. Henigan finished second in a two-man tryout with a Hall of Fame finalst.
The best news is that Henigan has a story he can someday tell his grandkids. (And Rivers can literally do that right now.)
In July, the Chargers signed quarterback Philip Rivers to a one-day retirement contract. What connection, if any, did that development have to the ability of Rivers to sign with the Colts’ practice squad?
None whatsoever.
Per the Chargers, it wasn’t an official contract. It was ceremonial. That’s because the Chargers had their full allotment of 90 players under contract.
If it had been a real contract, Rivers would have been moved to the reserve/retired list. And if he hadn’t been released from that designation before the trade deadline, Rivers would have been required to pass through waivers before signing with the Colts.
That doesn’t mean anyone would have claimed him. But it would have slowed things down — and it also would have given the Chargers the ability to slam the brakes on the process, forcing him to potentially unretire with the Chargers before being released through waivers.
While there’s no reason to think the Chargers would have played hardball with Rivers, they are competing with the Colts for a potential wild-card berth. Why help the Colts fill a glaring need at the most important position on the roster?
It’s been nearly five years since Colts quarterback Philip Rivers last played in the NFL, if/when he suits up and takes the field. He was still four years away from the record for a quarterback.
As noted when Tim Tebow was closing in on returning to the NFL in 2021 with the Jaguars, after not playing since 2012 with the Jets, Doug Flutie holds the all-time quarterback record with nine years between NFL appearances.
Flutie, drafted in 1985, had a CFL break from the NFL for nine years, leaving in 1989 and returning in 1998. Unlike Rivers, Flutie was still playing, well enough to get another NFL opportunity.
In 2004, Rivers and Flutie were teammates with the then-San Diego Chargers.
It’s still a very long break for Rivers, who’d also be the fourth oldest quarterback to start a game (behind only Tom Brady, Steve DeBerg, and Vinny Testaverde — with the ability to pass Testaverde for third in Week 18).
What does he have left? We may find out in only four days, if/when he starts for the Colts at Seattle.
If nothing else, it’s an unexpected eephus pitch in a season that has had plenty of curveballs.
