The Indianapolis Colts have found themselves in quite a bind. It wasn’t but a month ago that they were flying high as the number one seed in the AFC and there was MVP chatter surrounding new quarterback superstar Daniel Jones.
Well, that excitement has all but faded. Badly. Jones started to show some cracks (literally, like in his fibula) recently and then went ahead and tore his Achilles during Sunday’s loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
So, now what? Well, with no one to turn to on the roster to lead this team on a magical playoff run (the kind they were dreaming about just a few weeks ago) they had to bring in Philip Rivers for a workout. Yes, that Philip Rivers. The one who hasn’t played NFL football since 2020 and has been coaching high school.
And, yes, the Colts have actually signed him to their practice squad according to NFL insider Adam Schefter.
“ESPN Sources: 44-year-old Philip Rivers, who has not played in the NFL since the 2020 COVID season, is signing to the QB-needy Indianapolis Colts practice squad,” Schefter posted on X
He couldn’t fix their quarterback problem five years ago, but he definitely can now? And by the way, to get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, you need to have five years out of the game. This will reset Rivers’ clock.
Indianapolis Colts had limited options
So, what were the Colts supposed to do? I read several articles on other (obviously poor) websites that suggested they make a trade for someone like Trey Lance from the Los Angeles Chargers. Seriously, someone thought that out and typed it. Tell me you don’t know anything about the NFL and the trade deadline without actually saying it.
The Colts turned to Riley Leonard on Sunday, a sixth-round rookie from Duke and Notre Dame and probably a bunch of other schools. Well, he’s also dealing with a knee injury and it’s not like this was a Tom Brady moment anyway. How badly is he hurt? Do you really think it matters, Eddie?
The Colts are now 8-5 and in third place in a putrid AFC South that has actually turned out to be quite competitive. The Colts went from the top seed in the conference not long ago to being on the outside looking in.
Ah, but they still have Anthony Richardson! Of course, I’m kidding because he popped himself in the face with a rubber band weeks ago during a pre-game incident and fractured his orbital bone. He’s been out since and it didn’t matter until now. But, let’s be honest, is anyone in the Colts’ organization sitting around right now thinking, ‘dammit, I wish we had Anthony Richardson still’? They were more likely to wonder if Jonathan Taylor could throw.
Philip Rivers is probably only hope for Indianapolis Colts
Rivers just turned 44-years old and hasn’t played in the NFL since 2020, when he played for – you guessed it – the Indianapolis Colts. He was pretty cooked in 2020, so it’s fair to wonder just how good he is as we enter 2026 and he’s mostly touched footballs to hand them out as game balls to his high school players.
What were the Colts other options? Every once in a while you hear rumors about Cam Newton potentially wanting to return to the NFL, but he seems happier running his mouth on television dressed like one of Willy Wonka’s rival chocolatiers who seems determined to undermine Willy’s entire factory.
The point is, there are no trades to be made. There is no unemployed quarterback out there just waiting to take this team to the promised land. For all the people taking shots at the Colts for signing Rivers, I’d ask them what their other options were. Just let this season go in the toilet and start fresh next year? Head into the offseason with major questions about Chris Ballard, Shane Steichen and the quarterback position as a whole?
Ballard, Steichen and Jones were riding high a month ago with talk of extensions and the future. Now? There is a world where none of the three return in 2026.
That is, unless Rivers has some magic left in the bottle (which it’s really tough to imagine that he does) or Leonard is healthy and plays way above his sixth-round head.
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