Philip Rivers is stepping into a time warp as he tries to make a comeback bid to save the Indianapolis Colts’ season.
The 44-year-old QB, who last played in 2020 in Indy and officially re-signed with the team on Wednesday, said his relationship with head coach Shane Steichen and his familiarity with the club led to his return after retiring in 2021.
“As simple as it gets, a coach I love and an organization I enjoyed being with,” Rivers said Wednesday of the return. “Mr. (Jim) Irsay believed in me in 2020 when things didn’t go so well in 2019. The guys that I was able to play with, shoot, 14 of them are still here. Practice room is the same. PR guys are the same. Locker room is the same. They wanted me. I try to keep it as simple as that.”
After 16 seasons with the Chargers, Rivers spent 2020 in Indy, where he helped the Colts to an 11-5 record and a bid to the playoffs, the last time the franchise has reached the postseason.
Rivers has spent his retirement coaching high schools and said he has no plans to return. Then he saw Daniel Jones go down on Sunday with a torn Achilles, which made him wonder if Steichen would call.
“A game I love to play. A game I thought I’d played,” Rivers said. “I wasn’t really holding out any hope of playing again. I thought the ship had sailed, but something about it caught my attention. Like one of those deals, a door opens and you either walk through it and find out if you can do it or run away from it. I know there’s a risk involved, obviously, what might or might not happen, but the only way to find out, and I found it, was just a gift, and I found just a gift, it’s free from the boys and the game you love to play.”
Rivers’ last NFL catch came on January 9, 2021 in a playoff loss to Buffalo. No one doubts the 17-year-old pro’s mental ability, and his familiarity with Steichen’s offense will serve him well. But after so much time off, at his age, does grandpa really have it left in him physically?
“We’re going to find out, too,” he said. “I think so. I know it’s hard. I know five years is a long time. Believe me, it weighed on me, it’s such a long time. But it’s also a game that I’ve been playing for a long time and have been for the last five years. I know that high school football is different. Staying involved in the game and I watched the Colts and the Chargers every Sunday, and I don’t know every single game that I watch. The NFL team is getting ready to play quarterback, I know it’s a long way off, but it’s not like I just blocked a football and I’m trying to get it back.”