Melvin Gordon Thinks Philip Rivers Will Sign With Jaguars’ AFC South Rival

Could Philip Rivers end up playing the Jaguars twice next year? One of his former teammates thinks so.

Philip Rivers has long made life hard for the Jacksonville Jaguars whenever the Chargers and Jaguars clashed. Could he do the same twice in 2020? One of his former teammates thinks so. 

Los Angeles Chargers running back Melvin Gordon said during an interview on CBS Sports Network's "We Need to Talk," that he thinks Rivers will ultimately sign with the Indianapolis Colts after the Chargers announced last week that he wouldn't be resigned. Gordon isn't saying he has any inside information from his teammate of five years, but he explained why it would make sense for the 38-year old passer.

“I think he’ll go to the Colts," Gordon said. "I don’t know, that’s just my thought.

"He has [connections]. Nick [Sirianni]... he came from here, we had him, and he's the offensive coordinator there. They run the same playbook, so it'd be easy, he could come right in and he could be telling guys what to do, he knows what's going on already."

Sirianni, the Colts offensive coordinator, spent five years with Rivers as a Chargers offensive assistant. He was an offensive quality control coach in 2013, quarterbacks coach from 2014-2015, and then wide receivers coach from 2016-2017. 

There isn't only one Colts coach with an extensive past with Rivers, only further reinforcing the logic that Indianapolis makes sense for the first time free agent. Head coach Frank Reich spent three years with the Chargers — one as quarterbacks coach (2013) and two as offensive coordinator (2014-2015).

"We have history with [Reich] as well, so it'd be an easy plug-in," Gordon told CBS Sports. "So I think that's probably the best fit, but you never know. Tampa, I hear, is a place. I try not to talk to Phil about free agency, he has enough people in his ear about that. I think the Colts, though."

Rivers playing in Indianapolis would mean the Jaguars would have to play him twice in 2020, the first year in which they'd face him multiple times. Rivers has historically had huge games against the Jaguars, so the prospect of him facing them twice, even at his age, isn't exactly ideal for Jacksonville. 

Rivers is 7-2 vs. the Jaguars in his career, with the most recent Jaguars' victory coming in 2017. In nine games vs. the Jaguars, Rivers has completed 69.44% of his passes for 2,668 yards (9.26 yards per attempt), 24 touchdowns and only five interceptions. He has a 119.1 quarterback rating in those games and has only been sacked 10 times.

2019 was the most recent example of Rivers' dominance vs. the Jaguars. Despite Rivers having one of the worst seasons of his career, the Chargers and Rivers had an easy day vs. the Jaguars' defense in a 45-10 Chargers victory. Rivers was 16/22 passing (72.73%) for 314 yards and three touchdowns, all while not playing the final quarter of the game. 

If Gordon's prediction comes true, the Jaguars will have to hope for better success vs. Rivers in a larger sample size, something the past indicates could be a longshot.