Seattle Seahawks

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.

At least for now, one of Seattle’s position coaches will not remain in his role.

The Seahawks announced on Wednesday that running backs coach Kennedy Polamalu is taking a leave of absence for personal reasons.

Run game specialist/assistant offensive line coach Justin Outten and offensive assistant Michael Byrne will assume Polamalu’s duties.

Polamalu joined Seattle’s staff in 2024 when Mike Macdonald took over as the team’s head coach. A longtime college and pro assistant, Polamalu was with the Vikings as running backs coach from 2017-2021 before serving in the same position with the Raiders from 2021-2023.

According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Media, Polamalu is stepping away from coaching for the time being and may perform other duties for the team.

The Seahawks have to like what they’ve gotten out of Rashid Shaheed since trading for him midseason.

He’s now been named NFC special teams player of the week after his performance in Sunday’s win over Atlanta.

Shaheed had a 100-yard kick return for a touchdown to start the third quarter of Seattle’s eventual 37-9 win. His return was the longest of 2025 so far.

In all, Shaheed returned three kicks for 148 yards.

This is Shaheed’s first career player of the week award.

The Seahawks will be at home to face the Colts in Week 15.

Could Philip Rivers go from five years out of the NFL to starting on Sunday? Colts head coach Shane Steichen isn’t ruling it out.

Steichen told reporters that quarterback Riley Leonard, who finished last week’s game after Daniel Jones suffered a season-ending Achilles injury, will practice today despite a knee injury. But he wouldn’t say whether Leonard will start on Sunday or whether Rivers, the 44-year-old who just joined the Colts, will start.

“We’ll see,” was all Steichen would say about his starter for Sunday’s game against the Seahawks.

Steichen sounded excited about the possibility of Rivers playing right away.

“His passion and his obsession for the game is unmatched. For him to come back and want to do this at 44 years old I think is incredible,” Steichen said. “We’re excited for his opportunity. He’s one of the most passionate players I’ve ever been around. The obsession for the game is off the charts. I know he’s fired up to be back in this building.”

The Colts would be underdogs at Seattle even if Jones were healthy. Without their starting quarterback, they’re two-touchdown underdogs. Steichen knows he’s going to have to take some chances to pull off an upset and keep his team in playoff contention, and the high-risk, high-reward option of going with the 44-year-old Rivers could be his choice.

We’ve reached the point in the regular season where teams can officially turn an eye toward January.

The Rams, Patriots, and Broncos are the three clubs that can clinch a postseason berth this week.

For Los Angeles, it’s simple: Win and you’re in. The Rams can only secure the NFC’s first playoff spot, with the NFC West still up for grabs between L.A., Seattle, and San Francisco.

Things are a little more complicated for two AFC teams.

New England will win the AFC East and secure a home playoff game with a victory over Buffalo. The Patriots can also clinch a postseason berth with a tie and a Chargers loss; a tie with a Texans loss or tie; a tie with a Colts loss or tie; or a tie with a Jaguars loss. New England would also clinch a berth if Houston loses or ties and Indianapolis loses or ties as long as both games don’t end in a tie.

Denver cannot clinch the AFC West on Sunday, but can clinch a postseason berth with a win. If Denver ties, a Chargers loss, or Jaguars loss, or Texans loss or tie, or Colts loss or tie would also secure a playoff spot. Additionally, the same New England clinching scenario with a Houston loss or tie plus an Indianapolis loss or tie, as long as both games don’t end in a tie, applies to Denver.

The Patriots will play the Bills at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, while Broncos-Packers and Rams-Lions both have a 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff time.

He’s actually doing it.

After retiring following the 2020 season, 44-year-old Philip Rivers is signing with the Colts’ practice squad after working out with the club on Monday night, according to multiple reports.

Rivers, who is now a grandfather, has been coaching high school football in Alabama. Now he’s lacing up his cleats to see if he can help a squad that has seen several quarterback injuries in 2025.

The No. 4 overall pick of the 2004 draft, Rivers has a lot of familiarity with Colts head coach Shane Steichen, who served as his position coach and offensive coordinator with the Chargers.

At 8-5 with four games left, Indianapolis’ injury situation at quarterback has quickly become dire. With backup Anthony Richardson already out due to an orbital fracture suffered in a freak pregame accident, Daniel Jones went down on Sunday wiht a torn Achilles and is out for the year. Riley Leonard, the team’s true third-string QB, also suffered a knee injury during Sunday’s loss to the Jaguars that has put his availability for Week 15 in question.

Enter Rivers, who last played for the Colts in 2020, leading the team to an 11-5 record and a postseason appearance.

We’ll see if Rivers is available for Sunday, when the Colts head to Seattle to play the Seahawks.

Whether Rivers gets on the field will affect his candidacy for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Rivers was named as one of 15 semifinalists for the class of 2026. His candidacy will reset if he signs to Indianapolis’ active roster.

The Seahawks plan to have one of their offensive linemen back on the practice field this week.

Head coach Mike Macdonald said, via the team’s website, that Jalen Sundell is expected to return to work after missing the last four games with a knee injury. Sundell started the first nine games of the season at center, but Olu Oluwatimi has handled the spot well in his absence and Sundell also saw time at right guard before sliding over while Oluwatimi was sidelined this summer.

Macdonald said “we’ll see” where Sundell fits once he is back up to speed.

Tight end Elijah Arroyo left Sunday’s win over the Falcons with a knee injury. Macdonald said the team is still working out a plan for the rookie, who has 15 catches for 179 yards and a touchdown, but that he is likely to miss Week 15.

The Colts have Anthony Richardson on injured reserve and will have Daniel Jones on injured reserve later this week. Jones will undergo season-ending surgery on his torn Achilles this week.

That leaves the Colts with rookie Riley Leonard to start Sunday’s game against the Seahawks.

But Shane Steichen said Leonard, a sixth-round pick out of Notre Dame, has a knee issue that he’s working through.

The Colts “hope” Leonard can play.

“We’ll see how it goes,” Steichen said, via Stephen Holder of ESPN.

Leonard played the final three quarters against the Jaguars on Sunday after Jones’ injury. He completed 18 of 29 passes for 145 yards and an interception.

The Colts will look to make at least one quarterback transaction this week, depending on Leonard’s availability. Brett Rypien, who is on the practice squad, could see a promotion to the active roster.

Rypien would start if Leonard can’t go.

Colts quarterback Daniel Jones will miss the season with a torn right Achilles.

Coach Shane Steichen announced on Monday that Jones will undergo season-ending surgery this week.

Jones was playing through what was reported to be a hairline fracture in his left fibula when he went down in the first quarter on Sunday with an injury to his opposite leg. Steichen would not confirm postgame that Jones had torn his right Achilles, saying only “it’s not looking good.”

Although a torn Achilles is easily diagnosed, Jones underwent an MRI on Monday to confirm the injury.

Steichen also said backup quarterback Riley Leonard is dealing with knee soreness but will “hopefully” be available for Sunday’s game against the Seahawks.

If that wasn’t enough, cornerback Charvarius Ward is in concussion protocol.