Colts to Bring Former NFL QB Philip Rivers in for Workout After Losing Daniel Jones

Rivers played his last NFL season in 2020 in Indianapolis.

Former NFL quarterback Philip Rivers is going to have a visit with the Colts. / Rich Barnes-Imagn Images

With Daniel Jones’s season officially over after he tore his Achilles on Sunday, the Colts are desperate to find a new starting quarterback to finish out the season as they cling to their playoff hopes.

In a shocking move on Monday, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo reported that the Colts are bringing retired quarterback Philip Rivers in for a visit and workout on Tuesday. The news dropped on Rivers’s 44th birthday.

The long-time Chargers quarterback hasn’t played since 2020, when he actually spent his last NFL season with the Colts. He was Indianapolis’s starter in 16 games, going 11–5 and leading the team to the wild-card round. He announced his retirement from the league in 2021.

Rivers also just retired as a member of the Chargers this past summer.

It’s important to note that Rivers has been coaching high school football at St. Michael Catholic in Fairhope, Ala., and Colts rookie quarterback Riley Leonard, who is slated to start this weekend, is from Fairhope. Rivers has been a mentor of sorts to Leonard, CBS Sports’ Bill Jones reported. At age 22, Leonard is almost the same age as the oldest of Rivers’s 10 children.

If Rivers is signed to the active Colts’ roster, then he would become the oldest player in the league over Aaron Rodgers, who just turned 42 last week.

Colts are dealing with various quarterback injuries

Jones’s season-ending injury was the latest of Colts’ quarterback injuries. Anthony Richardson remains on the injured reserve list with a fractured orbital bone. Leonard is expected to start this upcoming Sunday vs. the Seahawks, but is dealing with a knee injury after subbing in for Jones on Sunday vs. the Jaguars.

If Leonard can’t start on Sunday, then the Colts could elevate Brett Rypien from the practice squad. Additionally, rookie tight end Tyler Warren would be the team’s emergency quarterback, per Fox 59’s Mike Chappell.

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