The Indianapolis Colts shocked the NFL world by bringing back 44-year-old quarterback Philip Rivers to potentially lead the offense through the final four games. Maybe Riley Leonard starts, but that doesn't seem overly logical with the return of Rivers. Rivers' return begged a question asked by many, though: How many other retired greats could return?
One could even be New England Patriots legend Rob Gronkowski. He is still just 36 years old, just five months older than Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, and probably could still add some value to a team. Heck, just imagine him paired with Indy TE Tyler Warren.
But the chances that Gronkowski pulls a Philip Rivers and comes back to play in the NFL for the Colts or any other team are about "one percent." That is according to the future Pro Football Hall of Famer himself.
Rob Gronkowski is unlikely to follow the latest Philip Rivers and Indianapolis Colts trend
Even then, the tight end would have a specific condition he would want before he played. That includes not playing at all, but making a million dollars while not doing so, at least according to a conversation the icon had with the NFL Network.
"I would maybe go back if a team was like, ‘Hey, can you give us some great looks on the scout team?’" Gronkowski said. "'We’re going to pay you a legitimate bonus, like a million bucks bonus, and all you gotta do is practice Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday on the practice squad and show us some legitimate looks of the tight ends that we’re going against. Just go out there and practice and have fun and get our guys better.'"
In other words, the Indianapolis Colts and Philip Rivers situation is probably a one-off, especially in terms of the former Patriots star returning. Though if he wanted to return to New England, this might be a good time to do it. The Patriots currently hold the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
Meanwhile, the Indianapolis Colts are desperate. The team was once trending toward the top seed in the conference until injuries and losses began to pile up. The Jones injury, coupled with cornerbacks Sauce Gardner and Charvarius Ward being out in Week 15 (Ward will miss the rest of the regular season), is probably too much to beat the Seattle Seahawks.
Still, why should Indy stop at signing Rivers? He did play for Indianapolis previously, of course, but the team needs help in other areas, too. Why not sign Richard Sherman to overcome the loss of Ward? Why not sign Adrian Peterson to back up Jonathan Taylor? The possibilities are endless.