Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Forty-four-year-old grandfather Philip Rivers was happy coaching his son’s high school team and watching NFL games from the sofa when he got the call asking if he’d like to play for the Indianapolis Colts. “Heck yeah, I’m interested,” Rivers told Colts head coach Shane Steichen over the phone, before racing up from Alabama to Indiana on Monday to strap on pads and practice throwing the ball.
Rivers could take to the field as soon as this Sunday, against the Seattle Seahawks, potentially filling in for stricken quarterback Daniel Jones in a crucial game for the injured-ravaged Colts’ playoff hopes. “I wasn’t really hanging on any hope of playing again — I kind of thought that ship had sailed,” Rivers said Wednesday, of the stunning turn of events.
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Of course, the call to Rivers was no random Hail Mary. Rivers played nearly 250 games for the Colts and the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers across a 17-year professional career and ranks sixth for all-time NFL passing touchdowns. At 44, he is only a year older than Tom Brady was when the all-time great quarterback won his seventh and final Super Bowl in 2021. And he is four years younger than George Blanda, the oldest man ever to play a game at quarterback, who was 48 when he suited up for the Oakland Raiders in 1975.
Yet speaking to journalists on Wednesday, Rivers admitted he is nowhere near to the athletic shape he was in for his last NFL appearance, a 2021 playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills. A notably plump Rivers joked that he is “not sure” what he currently weighs and said his wife in particular was “nervous about the physical aspect” of returning to one of sports’ most dangerous positions after so long away. “All of us, even me…(are) a little scared, a little nervous,” he said. “Who wouldn’t have doubt after five years?” Rivers added.
But the father-of-10 said his youngest kids would be excited to see him on the field, having been too young to remember his final season. If Rivers actually plays on Sunday depends on whether the Colts’ third-string quarterback, rookie Riley Leonard, recovers from a knee injury he suffered after replacing Jones last weekend. Coach Steichen said his team will “go through this week in practice, see how it goes, and then we’ll make a decision at the end of the week.”
The Colts (8-5) are one spot out of the AFC playoffs but face a tough run of games in the final weeks of the campaign. “We’re taking this thing one day at a time,” Rivers told reporters. “The easiest way to eliminate all the things that can go bad is to stay home,” added the veteran. “And the only way to find out, ‘can you still do it,’ is to go try.”
© 2024 AFP
