Philip Rivers’ impressive return has many wondering which other retired stars of yesteryear could do the same. In fact, the topic came up on Jason and Travis Kelce’s podcast, where they ran through a host of names.
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Jason and Travis love watching the NFL. That is why they were enthralled to see Rivers return to the league at age 44 this past weekend. They viewed it as courageous, gutsy, and a reminder of what sports are all about.
The display got the Kelce brothers wondering which other former NFL stars could also make a return one day. From Dan Marino to Rob Gronkowski, here are some of the players the duo thinks could possibly make a comeback.
“I mean, I know a guy still trying to prove his athleticism and trying to dunk,” Travis started the banter session with a joke (via New Heights, timestamp: 29:00). The comments were about none other than Jason. The former center recently shared on the podcast that he wanted to pursue the challenge of trying to dunk. He said that if he had time to specifically train for it, he could do it.
But the challenge hasn’t been going well so far. “Travis, I can’t bend my elbow right now. I’ve got a loose body. I can’t even touch my head right now because I’ve got a loose body stuck in my f**king elbow joint,” Jason revealed.
It was a funny back-and-forth that felt brotherly. They then dove into which former players they could see lacing their shoes back up one day. Some of the names they brought up were pretty interesting.
The Kelce brothers started with easy names like Aaron Donald and Andrew Whitworth. They are two massive human beings who recently retired and are still in excellent shape. Give them an offseason to get into playing shape, and they could certainly hang with today’s younger players.
Then, they began listing other interesting names who have been out of the game for quite some time. “Gronk could, I think Gronk could do it,” Travis said. “He can give you a bunch of games, for sure.”
Of course, the tight end felt another tight end could still play. Gronk is currently 36 years old. Many thought he retired too early when he did. Maybe he could make a return if he really wanted to.
But what about other quarterbacks like Rivers?
“Could Peyton Manning come up out of there?” Jason asked. “What’s the oldest a quarterback could go? Like Kurt Warner?… I saw Dan Marino on the sidelines. What’s Dan these days?”
“Dan’s probably not even interested,” Travis joked.
This prompted Jason to look up how old Marino is. “We need to see what’s the oldest quarterback that could go out there and function. Dan Marino’s 64!” he added, laughing.
Sixty-four is certainly a little too old to play a game in the NFL. Nobody would want to see a man of that age get injured during a game. One big hit could shatter Marino’s hip.
But all in all, it was a fun discussion between Jason and Travis Kelce. Obviously, Rivers’ return has sparked these types of conversations about age and playing in the NFL. It has also started discussions about the state of younger quarterbacks in today’s league.
After all, how can a 44-year-old who was five years into retirement be the best option for the Indianapolis Colts? Especially when they have Riley Leonard, a sixth-round pick they selected in this past year’s draft. Are rookies nowadays really that bad? Right now, that is what it feels like.
