The Indianapolis Colts Have Just Signed Philip Rivers, Who’s Now A Grandpa, Out Of Retirement
ByJoey Heldon December 9, 2025inArticles›Sports News
It’s very difficult to win in the NFL without a strong quarterback. The Indianapolis Colts are seeing this unfold in real time. Their starter, Daniel Jones , is out for the season after tearing his right Achilles. The backup, Anthony Richardson Sr., suffered a facial fracture after a freak equipment room accident. Now, third-stringer Riley Leonard, who came in last weekend after Jones went down, is nursing a knee injury of his own.
The Colts are in dire straits, and they’re turning to a familiar face. The team announced it’s signed Philip Rivers to the practice squad.
Rivers retired from the NFL in January 2021 after 17 seasons. He primarily played with the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers, though he joined the Colts for his final season. He’s also now 44 years old and a grandpa—but he still might be the best option for an Indianapolis team desperately fighting for a playoff spot.
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After an 8-2 start, the Colts were one of the feel-good stories of the season. But three straight losses, including a pair against fellow AFC South playoff contenders in the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans, has dampened their postseason hopes. The Colts are currently 8th in the AFC race, losing the tiebreaker to the Texans for the final playoff spot.
Leonard is a rookie the Colts selected in the sixth round. He led Notre Dame to the College Football Playoff championship game last year, but the NFL is a different beast than the NCAA. Rivers was selected as the fourth overall pick of the 2004 NFL Draft. He spent his first 16 years in the NFL with the Chargers before a single swan song season in Indianapolis.
That year, Rivers led the Colts to a surprising 11-5 record and a playoff appearance. He threw for over 4,000 yards and finished the season with 24 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He reportedly looked impressive in his workout, though he understandably needs to improve his conditioning.
Rivers, who has ten children with his wife Tiffany, became a grandfather in late 2024. His first child, Halle, gave birth to a baby boy, just a year after Rivers’ tenth child was born. He could become just the second grandfather to play in the NFL, joining Brett Favre .
Another interesting wrinkle is Rivers’s Hall of Fame status. He’s currently a semifinalist for the Hall of Fame Class of 2026. If the Colts simply keep him on the practice squad, he’ll maintain his eligibility. If he signs to the Colts’ active roster—even if he doesn’t take a single snap all season long—his eligibility clock would start over. Assuming he retired again after this season, that means Rivers wouldn’t be eligible for the Hall of Fame until 2031.
Then again, joining the Colts for the stretch run and leading them to a Super Bowl victory would be a pretty impressive addition to Rivers’s resume. That would certainly be worth the wait.
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San Diego Chargers Ready To Franchise Tag Philip Rivers The Next Two Seasons And Pay Him $55 Million
ByTravis Pulveron August 16, 2015inArticles›Sports News
Philip Rivers has been one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL for some time. He has passed for more than 4,000 yards in six of the last seven seasons, and for at least 20 touchdowns in each of the last nine seasons (30+ in four of them). During his career, he has gotten the San Diego Chargers to the AFC Championship game, but has yet to make it to the Super Bowl.
He is a little on the older side at 33, but there is no reason to believe that he is going to slow down anytime soon, especially with the Chargers restocked with young talent and ready to compete. He has already made over $119 million playing for the Chargers, and could stand to make a lot more, should he opt to resign with the team when his contract expires after this season.
Normally, a marquee player like Rivers would be offered a contract extension before he begins the final year of his current contract. Rivers, however, has been reluctant to engage in talks, choosing instead to focus on the season at hand.
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Part of the problem for Rivers has been the ongoing discussion on whether the Chargers are going to stay in San Diego or move to Los Angeles. Rivers has stated that he does not wish to uproot his family and force them to move to Los Angeles. He’s made it sound as if he might actually consider retiring rather than do so.
Would he actually retire rather than move? Only Rivers knows for sure, but when he sees the kind of money the team is willing to put on the table the next two years, he might change his mind.
Rumor has it that the team and Rivers have made progress in contract talks, but that a deal is unlikely to happen before the start of the 2015 season. Should that be the case, it appears the team has no problem putting the franchise tag on him in 2016. They will have a few months to still try and negotiate a long term deal with him before the ‘16 season, but if they don’t that will put his salary next year around $25 million.
Where it gets really interesting, is what the team is willing to do should they not come up with a contract extension prior to the 2016 season – franchise tag him again. If they do, he gets a 20 percent pay raise from his previous year, putting his salary in 2017 at $30 million.
Basically, the Chargers are willing to pay Philip Rivers $55 million over the next two seasons to stay with the team. That is nearly half of what he has made throughout his entire career.
So – will he uproot the family for $55 million? He would be insane not to. If his wife and kids miss their San Diego friends too much he can just charter a private jet every weekend to fly them over to Los Angeles.
He’ll certainly be able to afford it.
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