The Indianapolis Colts may have pulled one of the most surprising moves of the year, signing Philip Rivers to their practice squad in hopes of him possibly helping the team down the stretch of the season. With Daniel Jones out for the season with an Achilles injury, they needed to sign a quarterback, and they went with someone who was familiar with their system.
The thing is, Rivers hasn't played since the 2020-21 season, and it looked like he was on the road to enjoying a nice retirement. Nonetheless, Rivers still has the desire to play, and it didn't take much to convince him to come back and help the Colts.
If things didn't go well, there was also uncertainty about whether he would return, according to a source via ESPN.
“It was like, ‘if s— goes south, would he be willing?” the source said. “Shane and Philip are close, so I don't think this really surprised anyone.”
For the Colts, they went with the Russell Westbrook route when it came to the thought of signing Rivers.
“Options out there are slim,” a team source said. “He knows the system, so why not? What the heck?”
The last time the NFL saw Rivers was with the Colts in the Wild Card round against the Buffalo Bills in 2021. That season, he helped the Colts to an 11-5 record the year after Andrew Luck retired. He finished that year with 4,619 passing yards, 24 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions.
There should be no question that Rivers makes the Hall of Fame, as he is an eight-time Pro Bowler, No. 7 on the NFL's all-time list with 63,440 passing yards, and No. 6 with 421 touchdown passes.
With his return to the Colts, there is a chance that he could keep climbing the leaderboard, but it may take him more than just a few games to have any real movement.
