Colts: Philip Rivers’ NFL journey might not have ended after all
By Jerry Trotta
Before Sunday, the post-Philip Rivers era in Indianapolis had started about as well as anybody could have hoped.
Through eight games, Carson Wentz is completing over 62% of his passes for 1,926 yards (240.8 per game) and 14 touchdowns to three interceptions. Generally speaking, he’s made drastic improvements compared to his disaster 2020 season and has proven folks wrong who thought he was broken beyond repair.
One thing Wentz can’t say about the start of his Colts career, though, is that he might not enjoy as much team success as Rivers did in his first year at the helm.
Of course, Rivers led Indy to an 11-5 record and a playoff appearance. Wentz, on the other hand, has the Colts at 3-5 and looking up at a number of teams in the AFC standings.
Rivers was obviously working with a much better roster, and it appears he’s open to joining a similar situation to his one with Indy last year.
Per Sam Farmer of the LA Times, with whom Rivers is extremely close, the 39-year-old “would listen” if the Saints called him.
Philip Rivers tells me he hasn’t heard from the Saints but would listen.
— Sam Farmer (@LATimesfarmer) November 2, 2021
Is former Colts QB Philip Rivers considering an NFL return?
Given the lack of action that’s transpired leading up to Tuesday’s trade deadline, this could be the most intriguing development of the week so far. Rivers coming to the rescue to play for Sean Payton in the Big Easy? That’s box-office type of stuff.
With Taysom Hill poised to return from concussion protocol, the Saints aren’t entirely helpless at quarterback. However, Jameis Winston was flourishing in Payton’s system before his season-ending knee injury.
Suffice to say, Rivers profiles more closely to Winston’s gunslinger style of play than Hill’s dual-threat calling card.
As we noted earlier, Rivers enjoyed massive success in almost an identical situation with the Colts last season. Much like Indy, the Saints have an elite defense, a strong rushing attack and an above-average receiving corps.
With those components at his disposal, Rivers finished 2020 with a 68% completion percentage, 4,169 passing yards (which ranked 10th in the league), 24 touchdowns, 11 interceptions and a 97.0 passer rating.
Philip Rivers says he'll listen if Saints want to call. https://t.co/RrFLH3RGLb
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) November 2, 2021
There’s obviously a risk that would come with signing a veteran QB out of retirement, but Rivers has stayed close to the game, taking over head coaching duties at St. Michael Catholic High School in his home state of Alabama.
More importantly, Rivers picked up the Colts’ playbook in swift fashion, so he could likely do the same in New Orleans. The only caveat is that the Saints already had their bye, so time wouldn’t be working in Rivers’ favor.
However, let’s cross that bridge when (or if) the time comes. For now, it seems like Rivers is interested in making a comeback.
That alone is awesome.