It’s not often that someone can retire before the age of 40, and it’s even more uncommon for someone to come out of retirement in their mid-40s. Nevertheless, Philip Rivers is now the exception to both trends, as the former San Diego Charger is lacing up his cleats one last time in an attempt to save the Indianapolis Colts’ season.
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After attempting to compete against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 14 with a fibula injury, Indy’s star quarterback, Daniel Jones, endured what is believed to be a season-ending Achilles injury. The Colts, who were being regarded as the de facto AFC favorites just a month ago, are now spiraling, and they are now looking towards the veteran experience of Rivers to get them out of this free fall.
According to Michael Irvin, however, there were plenty of other, younger options available at quarterback, ones that would have made much more sense for the Colts’ playoff chances. Even though he believes that Rivers ultimately will be an NFL Hall of Famer, the fact that the former Charger is 44 years old makes this a “head scratcher” of a signing for Irvin.
“That team had all mobile quarterbacks, and that’s how they got off to a great record,” he outlined, adding: “Daniel Jones was playing pretty well, throwing the ball, but they were also using his legs… You give the defense something to worry about with the quarterback running, and then Jonathan Taylor can get away from you. But if you use Philip Rivers, that’s a whole different thing. Philip ain’t running nowhere or past nobody. It will alter the run game,” Irvin observed, expressing caution about the new signing.
Indianapolis is still in a position to find its first playoff appearance since the 2020 season, so they were surely obligated to sign someone who they believed to be confident enough to handle the job. Nevertheless, Irvin seems to suggest that the concerns are obvious for a reason, and unless Rivers can turn back the clock, this whole experiment could prove to be a detriment to the Colts’ postseason chances.
“How good can that arm still be? How long will it take to get him in any kind of playing form?” asked Irvin. For the former wideout, it’s hard not to be impressed at the news of someone returning to the gridiron at the age of 44, but it’s just as difficult not to be worried about the well-being of both the Colts and Rivers.
For better or worse, we’ll get the answers to those questions on Sunday afternoon in Week 15, when the Colts travel to take on a vaunted Seattle Seahawks defense, which currently has the fourth most sacks of any team in football this year.
