NFL Coaches and Executives Share Dire Predictions for Philip Rivers's Return

There's some skepticism around the league.

Philip Rivers joined the Indianapolis Colts practice squad this week. / Mykal McEldowney/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Philip Rivers's shocking return to the NFL at the age of 44 has dominated conversation this week and while it's unclear when or if he'll see the field, intrigue abounds. The Athletic reached out to nine coaches and executives from around the league to get their honest thoughts in the unusual move and how Rivers might fare in his first action since 2021.

And the feedback was not very optimistic.

“Fun story,” said an executive who was granted anonymity so he could speak openly, “but I think it’s going to be a disaster.”

A third of those queried believe that bringing Rivers back is a better option than other alternatives, while the rest had a good deal of healthy skepticism.

“Looking at their schedule, it’s not going to work,” a second executive said. “They have a tough road with really good defenses. Philip is a sitting duck.”

Indianapolis is still fighting for a playoff spot and carries an 8-5 record into a Sunday clash against the Seattle Seahawks. Currently in the No. 8 spot in the AFC, the Colts need to find a few more victories in a tough closing stretch that also features contests against the San Francisco 49ers, Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans.

Unusual circumstances call for unusual solutions. With Daniel Jones out and backup Riley Leonard also dealing with an injury, the Colts were not sold on handing the keys to Brett Rypien. Older quarterbacks have had some decent success this year from Joe Flacco to Aaron Rodgers but those two also have played competitive football much more recently than Rivers.

With Jonathan Taylor in the backfield one figures that any path to the playoffs is going to involve him becoming an absolute workhorse and whichever quarterback lines up under center is going to have do some elite game-managing. As pointed out by the unnamed source who said Rivers was going to be a sitting duck, the string of defenses lined up is going to make an already difficult task that much harder.

Would it be an awesome story if Rivers came back and provided just the spark a free-falling team needs? From a neutral perspective, heck yeah. Just know that if you're optimistic about it, you may be an outlier.

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