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The Indianapolis Colts reached out to a retired signal caller in hopes of finding a solution to the active quarterback conundrum and will fly in 44-year-old retired quarterback Philip Rivers for a workout at the team facility on Tuesday.
Rivers was celebrating his 44th birthday when he received the offer to fly into Indianapolis. The eight-time Pro Bowl quarterback has not played in the NFL since the 2020 season, when he finished his career fueling one last playoff run with the Colts. Indianapolis has not reached the playoffs since Rivers’ last NFL game.
Rivers has strong ties to Colts head coach Shane Steichen, who moved up the ranks in the Los Angeles Chargers organization across two stints in nine seasons from defensive assistant, to quality control coach, to quarterbacks coach, to offensive coordinator. During the four seasons Steichen was the quarterbacks coach, Rivers ranked second in the league in passing yards and fourth in touchdown passes. Steichen took over play-calling duties as interim offensive coordinator for the Chargers in the final seven games of the 2019 season and was promoted to full-time offensive coordinator in 2020.
It’s absolutely bonkers to think how just one month ago, the Colts left Berlin with the best record in the NFL at 8-2, following a massive overtime win against the Atlanta Falcons. Fast forward to this past weekend, when the Houston Texans beat the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football to momentarily seize the final wild card spot over Indianapolis after Week 14. After three straight losses, the Colts sit at 8-5 with just four games left to reinsert themselves back into the playoff picture and must do so without their starting quarterback.
Colts QB Daniel Jones will miss the rest of the season after he suffered a ruptured Achilles against the Jaguars, Head Coach Shane Steichen confirmed in an announcement on Monday. Jones was in the midst of a dream resurgence in his newly found home, but collapsed to the grass with a season-ending, non-contact injury at the end of the first quarter in Jacksonville. The 28-year-old signed a one-year, $14 million deal with intentions to take the reins in Indianapolis, but a nine month absence could and probably will derail those long-term plans that were seemingly resurrected after a sensational 7-1 start with the Colts in 2025.
Rookie QB Riley Leonard took over after Jones exited the game and finished 18-of-29 passing for 145 passing yards with one rushing touchdown and one interception in Sunday’s 36-19 loss to the Jaguars. To make matters worse, Leonard walked into Monday’s practice dealing with soreness in his right knee. The Colts cannot plan to start a rookie, who had no experience with the starting unit before this past Sunday and will also miss practice this week while recovering from his knee injury.
Third-year quarterback Anthony Richardson is still on injured reserve, while recovering from a broken orbital bone he suffered during a bizarre pre-game incident in Week 6. Richardson will not be activated for...
