You don’t see a 44-year-old being signed to the NFL every day, and for Philip Rivers — who is rejoining the Colts after quitting football five years ago — the excitement among his family is off the charts.
The Indianapolis Colts made an unusual move this week by reaching out to the former quarterback who had spent what he thought was his final year in the NFL in 2020. The Colts have lost several key players to injury and decided to bring Rivers back to the practice squad just in case.
With Daniel Jones out with a torn Achilles tendon and backup QB Riley Leonard hampered by a knee injury, the Colts apparently felt a bit light on backups. And when management contacted Rivers to see if he wanted to make a comeback, he reportedly replied, “Dagummit, let’s freakin’ go!”
The now-former player also says that his family is very excited that he is back with the Colts, especially his young sons.
“They’ve been very supportive,” Rivers told the media, according to Sports Illustrated. “I think my younger children are most excited—I shouldn’t say most excited, they’re excited because they don’t remember dad playing. My six-year-old actually asked me like four months ago, ‘Dad, why don’t you play anymore?’ And I’m like, ‘Hon, I’m sorry, but the best you’re gonna get is me coaching on the sideline.”
“My boys are fired up, obviously,” Rivers added. “But they share the same sentiment, a little nervous. Like, ‘Dad, do you think you can do it?’ And then my older girls are real excited, because they’re a little bit confused. They’re like, ‘Shoot, I was 12 [years old],’ some of them. Now, all of a sudden, they’re grown adults, married, and they remember [being] 16 years old going to the ball game. It’s been a whirlwind of a 48 hours, I’ll say.”
Rivers will get a full week to show what he can (still) do at practice, which should give the coaching staff plenty of time to figure out what they are going to actually do with him.
The father of no less than ten kids — his tenth with wife Tiffany was born in 2023 — was signed to the San Diego Chargers in 2004 and played with the team through the 2019 season. He then spent a single season with the Colts before retiring in January of 2021. He was an eight-time Pro Bowler, was the passing leader in 2008, the touchdowns co-leader that same year, the passing yards leader in 2010, and the NFL comeback player of the year in 2013.
Now, at 44, he becomes one of the oldest players signed by an NFL team, joining a very small club of about 20 players who signed NFL contracts in their 40s.
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