The jokes are everywhere. Philip Rivers had been retired for five years, is 44 years old, and is a grandfather. Yet, he was suddenly tasked with saving the Indianapolis Colts' 2025 season. Indy had lost both of its top two quarterbacks, and the season seemed doomed.
Still, Rivers had built up enough goodwill in his career that many people rooted for him while expecting him to fail. His first game back was against the Seattle Seahawks, a team with an elite defense. Rivers survived that with an efficient, but non-explosive offense.
Hall of Fame wide receiver Cris Carter was one of the players who had played with or against Philip Rivers in his career. He respected the player, but certainly had questions about the quarterback's return. Why would Rivers risk himself to getting hurt after seemingly enjoying his non-playing life?
Cris Carter drops his truth about Indianapolis Colts quarterback Philip Rivers
Speaking on the Fully Loaded podcast, Carter cracked a joke (or, at least, he seemingly did) about what might be the real reason for the quarterback to come back. He backed that up with some solid respect, too.
"Philip Rivers’ wife, she done gave that man 10 kids," Carter said. "They’ve got 10 kids. You might not know this, but the NFL insurance after you are a player, it runs out after 5 years. Philip Rivers’ wife was like, ‘Listen, bro, the NFL insurance ran out. That’s good f****** insurance! That’s great insurance… I need you to go back out there, bro.’"
The assumption, of course, is that the Rivers family planned well enough for his post-NFL career to have good insurance. Even with so many children, the quarterback earned nearly $250 million in his career. The family should be set financially.
But Carter wasn't completely done with his take on Philip Rivers. He also offered a valid opinion of how well the QB did in his first game back since 2020.
"That was a gutsy performance because I see young players in the pocket every week with trepidation,” Carter said. “And here we are, we got, literally, an old man sitting there trying to lead his team. To me, that’s about leadership and sports character. And he took the chance to look awful. I respect that."
In fact, Rivers wasn't awful, either. He didn't possess a powerful arm, and he couldn't run well, but he understood where the ball needed to go, and he needed to get his passes out quickly. The Seahawks have an excellent pass rush, but Rivers was rarely touched.
That will need to continue to be the case. Philip Rivers isn't going to outrun anyone, as he admits, but he can lead his offense to drives that get just enough yards for points. It might be a grind for the Colts with Rivers, but it could be a successful one.