NFL Overreactions: Daniel Jones tears Achilles, Texans beat Chiefs
USA TODAY Sports’ Prince Grimes ‘overreacts’ to some of the best games from Sunday’s Week 14 slate.
- This move comes after starting quarterback Daniel Jones suffered a season-ending Achilles injury.
- Rivers, 44, last played for the Colts in 2020 and is currently a Pro Football Hall of Fame semifinalist.
- The Colts have lost four of their last five games, falling out of the AFC’s projected playoff field.
The Indianapolis Colts are apparently considering drastic measures to salvage their suddenly spiraling 2025 season.
After losing starting quarterback Daniel Jones to an Achilles injury during Sunday’s loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Indy is planning to bring Philip Rivers in for a workout on Tuesday, according to NFL Media.
Rivers, who turned 44 on Monday, hasn’t played since 2020 − which seemed like the last of his 17 seasons in the league and the only one he spent in Indianapolis after 16 years with the San Diego and Los Angeles Chargers. That 2020 campaign, widely disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, also marks the last time the Colts reached the postseason.
Rivers, who became eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame this year and is currently a semifinalist, was voted to eight Pro Bowls. His 63,440 career passing yards rank seventh in league history, and his 421 touchdown passes are sixth all-time. He led the Chargers to four AFC West titles and two other playoff appearances, guiding them as far as the AFC title game in 2007, but never to a Super Bowl.
Originally selected fourth overall by the New York Giants in the 2004 draft, Rivers’ rights were traded almost immediately to the Chargers in a draft day deal for Eli Manning, whom the Bolts chose No. 1 overall. Manning had no intention of going to San Diego, but the Chargers got Rivers and a package of picks, including a 2005 first-rounder − which would be used on Pro Bowl pass rusher Shawne Merriman − for their trouble. Rivers owns most of the franchise’s significant passing records.
Colts coach Shane Steichen spent nine years as an assistant with the Bolts, including seven on the offensive side of the ball, where he served as Rivers’ interim offensive coordinator in 2019.
Rookie Riley Leonard finished Sunday’s defeat, while former Colts QB1 Anthony Richardson is currently on injured reserve with an orbital fracture. After a surprising 7-1 start to its season, thanks in large part to revitalized Jones, Indianapolis has lost four of five and fell out of the AFC’s projected playoff field Sunday.
Since retiring after the 2020 season, Rivers has coached at St. Michael Catholic High School in Fairhope, Alabama.
Colts depth quarterback chart
▶ Daniel Jones (injured)
▶ Anthony Richardson (injured)
▶ Riley Leonard
▶ Brett Rypien (practice squad)
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