2025 has been a roller coaster of a season for Indianapolis Colts fans. It started with quarterback Daniel Jones shocking the league by playing at an elite level. Jones executed head coach Shane Steichen's offense almost perfectly, and the Colts seemed primed to make the playoffs, if not the Super Bowl.
Yet over the past few weeks, the Colts seemed to be in a downward spiral, which culminated in a ruptured Achilles from Jones. The only quarterback available to replace him was Riley Leonard, a rookie taken in the sixth round who failed to impress in the preseason.
Leonard filled in well enough for Jones during Week 14, but it clearly wasn't enough for Steichen; he opted to bring Philip Rivers out of retirement, even though Rivers is a 44-year-old grandfather who hadn't played in five years. Yet he still exceeded expectations, and there is at least one person who won't be surprised at all.
Kyle Shanahan’s comments on Philip Rivers show why the Colts’ gamble might pay off
Rivers ended his career with the Colts, but spent most of his time in the NFL with the San Diego Chargers, where he built a good relationship with Gus Bradley, the defensive coordinator. It was Rivers who put in a good word for Bradley in Indianapolis.
Bradley didn't last long in Indy, but he landed in San Francisco with the 49ers, which is how 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan ended up having a conversation with Rivers, encouraging him to return to the NFL. During a recent press conference, Shanahan recounted their discussion — and his immediate regrets.
"He was talking with Gus because he’s got a good relationship with Gus Bradley being together there with the Chargers," he said. "Gus just came down to my room and got to talk to him for a little bit. I was telling him how cool it would be, and then at about 10 seconds into it I realized that we were playing against him in 10 days. So, I tried to kind of sway away from that and tell him how dumb it would be, but it didn’t work.”
The Colts will be playing the 49ers during Monday Night Football in Week 16, and while Rivers' physicality was not at its peak during his first game back in Week 15, his efficiency and intelligence were. Rivers is known for his high football IQ, and that was on full display against the Seattle Seahawks, which has one of the best defensive units in the league.
It's for precisely that reason that Shanahan wasn't one of the people side-eyeing the Colts' decision to bring Rivers out of retirement.
"I think he’s capable of it," he said, adding, "The way he plays and the style he plays with, I respect him as much as any quarterback I’ve ever studied. Just growing up over this last 20 years or whatever, what I admire the most is someone at that age to be able to come in there and want to play the right way, which is hanging in that pocket and taking some of those hits. That is something that gets very old fast to a lot of people. And for him to still have that toughness and that competitiveness, just he’s not going to get into anything unless he’s all about it and 100-percent in. That’s why he made the decision and that’s why I think he’s giving them a good chance to win and helping their team.”
There is a reason Rivers has been nominated to the Hall of Fame, though his eligibility will now reset. Between 2004 and 2020, Rivers amassed 63,440 passing yards, the seventh-most in NFL history, and 421 passing touchdowns, the sixth-most in NFL history.
He was named to the Pro Bowl eight times, and even though he won't have the athleticism of, say, Anthony Richardson, he has the knowledge and skill to give the Colts a fighting chance in the postseason.