Should Colts consider giving Philip Rivers one more year before pursuing franchise QB?

If the Colts can’t find their QB of the future this offseason, Philip Rivers could be back.

The Indianapolis Colts are rolling right now. They’re 7-3 and atop the AFC South with a crucial (and potential) division-sealing battle against the Tennessee Titans on deck. Life is good and we don’t really want to interrupt that.

But pardon us! We have a legitimate scenario to consider, especially with the way Philip Rivers has been performing across his last five games. The offense has clearly found its groove with the 17-year veteran under center and the Colts look like a bonafide contender in the AFC. This team beat the Chiefs in Kansas City last year, so a deep playoff run can’t be ruled out!

Now that we can see how complete a team the Colts are with their offense being operated by a competent signal caller, does general manager Chris Ballard consider bringing back Rivers for one more year so they can buy some time to find their QB of the future?

Rivers clearly has plenty of capable play left in the tank. He caught a lot of flak for his start to the season, but perhaps he wasn’t given enough slack for learning a whole new system and changing teams for the first time in 16 years. Not only that, but the Colts’ offense featured a revolving door of injuries, which held him back from developing a rapport with most of his receivers.

Here’s the deal. The only franchise-worthy QB that’s eligible to hit the open market in the offseason is Dak Prescott. If the Colts can get their hands on him and splurge their plentiful cap space, that’s probably the move. However, it’s likely the Cowboys will slap the franchise tag on him again and try one more time to sign him to an extension while he rehabilitates from an injury.

And then you look at the 2021 NFL Draft class. Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields, Trey Lance and Zach Wilson could all very well be out of the Colts’ drafting range. They can, of course, trade up, but given how high these guys are projected to go in mock drafts, that might cost Ballard a lot more than he’d prefer.

Indy can always snag a guy like Florida’s Kyle Trask or Alabama’s Mac Jones, but those guys might need a bit of time to develop. It doesn’t look like the Colts will be getting their hands on a surefire NFL-ready quarterback prospect unless they make a monumental move to jump into the top-10.

We’re not going to rule that out, but the path to securing a franchise signal caller feels it’s a bit farther away than Colts fans may have anticipated. Another year of Rivers, assuming he maintains his play and gives the front office confidence he can lead the team back to the playoffs in 2021, could very well be in the cards.

We just wanted to warn you.

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