One week ago, the possibility of quarterback Philip Rivers playing NFL football this weekend was on no one’s radar screen. Now, he’s a day away from a potential return.
He’d be the sixth 44-year-old to play quarterback in NFL history.
The others were Tom Brady, Vinny Testaverde, Warren Moon, Steve DeBerg, and George Blanda.
Blanda and Moon are in the Hall of Fame. Brady will be. Testaverde, when we interviewed him on PFT Live at the Super Bowl several years ago, looked like he could still play.
The Rivers return draws one specific parallel to DeBerg, the unofficial grandmaster of the play-action fake. Like Rivers (if he plays), DeBerg also had four seasons of not playing before returning to the NFL to cap his career.
DeBerg initially retired after the 1993 season. In 1998, he returned to play for the Falcons, appearing in eight games with one start.
DeBerg has another distinction. In 1980, a larynx injury required him to use a microphone and a loudspeaker to be heard by teammates. With the speaker attached to his shoulder pads.
Rivers, who has never had an issue with others hearing him, may strain his own vocal cords in Seattle on Sunday, if/when he officially returns.
