Washington (United States) (AFP) – Philip Rivers, a 44-year-old retired quarterback, is reportedly joining the practice squad of the injury-ravaged Indianapolis Colts, who are trying to sustain their fading NFL playoff hopes. The Colts have three injured quarterbacks and multiple reports said Rivers, who would be the NFL’s oldest active player, had an impressive workout on Monday — his 44th birthday. He will reportedly join the Colts for practices ahead of Sunday’s game at Seattle.
Quarterback Daniel Jones tore his right Achilles in Sunday’s defeat at Jacksonville and will have season-ending surgery. Third-string Riley Leonard, the only quarterback listed on the Colts’ depth chart, suffered a knee injury after replacing Jones. Indianapolis were already without prior backup signal-caller, Anthony Richardson, who suffered an orbital fracture in October.
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Rivers will work with Leonard, a rookie taken in the sixth round of this year’s NFL Draft, but also learn the Colts schemes with an eye to possibly playing on Sunday, according to the reports. Only four quarterbacks in NFL history have started a game at age 44 or older — seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady, Vinny Testaverde, Warren Moon, and Steve DeBerg.
The Colts (8-5) are one spot out of the AFC playoffs but will be tested in the final weeks of the campaign by Seattle (10-3), San Francisco (9-4), Jacksonville (9-4), and Houston (8-5). Rivers, who has never played in a Super Bowl, spent 16 seasons with the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers before playing his final year with the Colts in 2020. Indy went 11-5 that season and reached the playoffs, a feat the Colts have not achieved since.
Rivers, who has been serving as a high school football coach, has not thrown an NFL pass since January 2021. He signed a one-day contract with the Chargers last July so he could retire as a member of that team. Rivers is a friend of Colts head coach Shane Steichen. They spent six seasons together when Steichen was an assistant coach for the Chargers.
© 2024 AFP
