The Indianapolis Colts have seemingly made a couple of things clear since Daniel Jones was injured in Week 14. One is that the team is desperate to find another quarterback. The other is that Indy is certainly no fan of Brett Rypien, the QB currently on the Colts' practice squad.
As far as Rypien goes, the Colts would potentially rather take a chance on 44-year-old retired quarterback Philip Rivers than risk Rypien taking a snap. How else should the younger quarterback feel after seeing all the news from Indy this week?
As far as the desperation, even thinking of signing Rivers confirms that. He hasn't played since 2020, and his arm strength was diminishing even then. The reported fact that Indianapolis is entertaining the idea of bringing back Rivers means maybe the team is open to taking a look at other aging QBs.
Matt Cassel makes light of the Indianapolis Colts potentially signing Philip Rivers
One of those could be Matt Cassel, or, well...maybe not. Cassel, at least, has jokingly offered his services to Indianapolis, even throwing some shade at Philip Rivers while doing so. (To be fair, there was no malice in Cassel's approach, but it was simply an attempt to make people laugh. It worked.)
To provide context, Rivers and his wife, Tiffany, have 10 children. They also have one grandchild. Cassel is obviously aware of both.
He wrote on X/Twitter, "Chris Ballard, gimme a shout. Arm’s ready. Less kids. And not a grandpa yet." He followed that with a laughing emoji.
Chris Ballard, gimme a shout. Arm’s ready. Less kids. And not a grandpa yet 😂 https://t.co/SSU97x6m0P
— Matt Cassel (@M_Cassel16) December 9, 2025
The awkward part is, why wouldn't Ballard think of bringing Cassel to Indy if he is also entertaining the possibility of adding Rivers? Even though he stopped playing in 2018, he is a year younger than Rivers. This isn't to say general manager Chris Ballard should sign Matt Cassel, but he likely shouldn't sign Philip Rivers, either.
Cassel played for multiple teams in his career, starting 47 games for the Kansas City Chiefs in the four seasons between 2009 and 2012. In his career, Cassel started 81 games, threw 104 touchdown passes, and had a quarterback rating of 78.7. He wasn't great, but he wasn't terrible.
The part that many NFL fans might be laughing at is that the Indianapolis Colts are seemingly seriously considering signing Philip Rivers, not because he was a bad quarterback, but because he hasn't played in five years and was close to the year he would be available for Pro Football Hall of Fame voting.