SI

ESPN ‘Monday Night Countdown’ Absolutely Flabbergasted by Philip Rivers News

Kristen Wong

The 'Monday Night Countdown' crew couldn't believe the Colts were bringing in 44-year-old Philip Rivers for a workout.
The 'Monday Night Countdown' crew couldn't believe the Colts were bringing in 44-year-old Philip Rivers for a workout. / Screengrab on Twitter/ @awfulannouncing
In this story:

After losing Daniel Jones to a season-ending injury, the Colts were in desperate need of a quarterback to salvage their playoff hopes. No one thought that quarterback would be 44-year-old Philip Rivers.

On Monday night, NFL Network reported that the Colts were bringing in Rivers for a workout in the wake of the team's quarterback injuries. Jones suffered an Achilles tear, while rookie Riley Leonard—who's just a bit older than Rivers's oldest kid, Halle—is dealing with an injury. The Colts also have Brett Rypien on the practice squad.

It's important to note that Rivers is just flying to Indianapolis on Tuesday for a workout and hasn't actually been signed by the team. ESPN’s Adam Schefter added that Rivers himself still has to figure out whether he's "willing to play" this season, and the Colts obviously need to see what type of shape he's in.

The news took fans by surprise, and it threw ESPN's Monday Night Countdown for a loop, too.

When Schefter reported the news on the network live ahead of Monday night's Eagles-Chargers game, each member of the crew reacted in their own unique but equally flabbergasted way. Scott Van Pelt appeared to smirk in disbelief, Marcus Spears leaned back in his chair and gave Schefter a strong side-eye and Troy Aikman joked about the last time he touched a ball on the field.

Watch that funny moment below:

Rivers last played in the NFL in 2020 and just turned 44 today. He spent the majority of his 17-year career with the Chargers, but did play his final season with the Colts, throwing for 4,169 yards, 24 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Rivers announced he was retiring as a Charger this past year.

Whether the grizzled vet will actually come out of retirement remains to be seen. Signing Rivers may not be the smartest or most logical choice for the 8-5 Colts, but it's definitely one of the most intriguing developments to emerge in the second half of the NFL season.

More NFL on Sports Illustrated

feed

Published
Kristen Wong
KRISTEN WONG

Kristen Wong is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. She has been a sports journalist since 2020. Before joining SI in November 2023, Wong covered four NFL teams as an associate editor with the FanSided NFL Network and worked as a staff writer for the brand’s flagship site. Outside of work, she has dreams of running her own sporty dive bar.

Home/NFL